Coming For You
by Chaser Of The Moon
Summary: Team Seven is reunited under the worst circumstances when Sakura and Naruto join Team Snake, disguised with a jutsu, and try to survive the new life Sasuke carved out for himself while lying, fighting and doing everything they can to not get caught.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer valid until end of story: Naruto and Co. are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved.

* * *

"The Hokage needs to speak with you immediately."

Something about all those words strung together like that (Hokage, speak, immediately) just spelled trouble. It couldn't be good news. She wouldn't be smiling when they walked in, she wouldn't beat Naruto over the head for calling her old, she wouldn't be drinking merrily or dozing on her mountains of paperwork. She would be looking sullen and grim, just like the messenger. The messenger who was currently looking at them with an unnerving expression on his face.

All this together could easily ruin someone's lunch time. It was a calm time to eat with friends and family, to joke around, to act as if life was good and everyone was perfect. Lunch plus urgent news equalled unhappy campers.

Naruto slurped up the remaining noodles handing from his mouth and looked over to Sakura, her chopsticks dangling from her hands. She met his eyes and nodded, inwardly sighing at the growling vibration coming from her stomach. They abruptly stood and exited the Ramen shop without looking at anybody, their bowls unnaturally lonesome.

The messenger stepped out of their way and followed behind them, hands behind his back. The mission, as he recalled, was not specified by the Hokage. It just showed the gravity of the situation. She wouldn't even let the messenger knew, she just said to bring Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki to her office as quickly and quietly as possible. No one outside the two needed to know.

"It's a mission," Sakura said, going into a steady jog to get to the Hokage faster.

Naruto easily kept her pace, "Yeah and it can't be very good."

Once they reached the Hokage the messenger entered first and bowed, before exiting her office. He glided past Naruto with urgency, almost slipping on the newly waxed floor. Sakura and Naruto waited by the door with patience until they were escorted in by two ANBU Black Oops members. One of which was identifiable by the bird mask he wore but they chose not to acknowledge him. The situation was not right for small talk. The air was too tense.

Tsunade was behind her gigantic desk with folded hands, hastily bidding the ANBU to leave. The two friends bowed before her and then stood straight. Sakura could see the anxiety in the older woman's eyes. After the doors closed, an uncomfortable silence filled the still room. The Hokage seemed to be living inside her mind at that moment, staring at an empty spot just below her window. A breeze ruffled some of the papers on her desk but she still did not move to stop them from falling. At last she picked up the scroll closest to her and fixed her eyes on it, taking a deep breath.

"Naruto, Sakura I have an important mission for you. Failure is not an option." When they said nothing she continued, "This is an S-Rank protection mission that will last a total of, no more than, two to five years."

It is said that when something hot is touched, the nerves in the hand send a message to brain so the body can move away. Some reaction times are slower than others but the brain gets the same message. **DANGER,MOVE AWAY!** Too bad that when something is heard there is no moving away from it. It lingers in the air, burning twice as hard and twice as fast.

"Two to five years?"

"S-Rank protection mission?" their thoughts were finally spoken out. It was unheard of for a mission to last so long especially a protection mission.

The Hokage struggled to pick her words carefully,"You need to prepare for this mission and that alone will take at least a year." It was rare for a mission's preparation phase to last more than a month. How long could gathering a few supplies and practicing techniques really take? "It is an undercover protection mission. You will not get caught or fail. You will assume the identity of someone new using a jutsu and become parts of a new world, that can take some time."

Sakura fumbled with her hands a little in nervous anxiety. Something was off about the mission. A Transformation Jutsu could only last a certain amount of time before it wore out, how could it last years? And who was the person they were protecting? Why couldn't he or she know who they were?

Were they the enemy in some way?

"Will we use a regular Transformation Justu?" Naruto asked curiously while fixing his Konoha Leaf Headband that was loose. Sunlight bounced off the metal part of it and caught Tsunade's eyes.

"No Naruto, it is a forbidden jutsu that has never been used before. It can transform a person for any amount of time and will be given to you by Kakashi tomorrow. It is called the Forbidden Transformation Jutsu #9. The reason it is forbidden is not known because it was created long ago, the details about it have been worn down by time. But if it should fall into evil hands, disaster could come to the Hidden Leaf Village and every other village in the ninja world. Since there are two of you it will come in two scrolls, a Water Scroll and a Fire Scroll. When you transform you will either be capable of learning water or fire type jutsus that compliment one another, any other jutsu will be dormant to you in that body."

"What?" Naruto looked shell shocked,"You're saying that I can't use the Rasengan or the Shadow Clone jutsu when I transform? Why not?"

"Because Naruto," Sakura put her hand on his shoulder,"If we had all our jutsus in another body that would be suspicious. Think about this: if you had green hair and looked like Kabuto but are able to use the Rasengan that would be strange. Not to mention someone would notice the technique if they ever saw Jiraiya or the Fourth Hokage perform it."

Tsunade turned to her, "Sakura, when you transform at first you will not have any jutsus. You have to learn everything all over again, including Ninja Academy type jutsus."

"Everything?" they repeated together.

Naruto was having a hard time believing all that, all his hard work would be thrown out the window. All the blood, sweat, and tears...the accomplished feeling he got every time he learned a new jutsu...it was all going to disappear. Was the mission really that important?

Sakura stared down at her hands, they wouldn't be healing hands anymore. They would just be used to deceive, to lie, and to protect their target.

"But don't worry, once you transform back to normal you will regain all your old jutsus back. You will loose the ones you learned through the transformation."

"Who is the person we are protecting?" It seemed to be the question Tsunade had been avoiding for she looked down and unfolded her hands before folding them again.

"Though he is traveling, we have been tracking him for a while. A year from now, when you are ready, you will follow one of Kakashi's Ninja Dogs to find him. He is no longer associated with our village but his actions can and probably will affect us."

_No..._

"Who is he?" Naruto persisted, her changing of the topic made him uneasy.

"He has three other ninjas with him and though they are skilled, they lack your power and skill". She turned to another scroll to her right and picked it up,"We have known for some time that Itachi Uchiha has been killed by his younger brother and now there is an opening in the have become more powerful over the last few years and we do not need another talented ninja to be corrupted into their ways."

_No...it couldn't be..._

Sakura and Naruto glanced at each other, they did not like where she was going with that.

_Don't say it..._

_Please don't say what I'm thinking..._

"They will most likely try to convince him to forget about his team and join them. This man is known for his hunger of power." Naruto gently grabbed Sakura's hand and squeezed it reassuringly because she was practically shaking in fear. "Your mission is to join his team and protect him, protect Sasuke Uchiha."


	2. Chapter 2

A pin dropping on the floor could of been heard after he-who-must-not-be-spoken-of's name was said. It was no secret that Team 7 still worried about Sasuke and often tried to bring him back to Konoha but their efforts were in vain. He was too quick, too cunning. He knew their weakest points because he was once one of them. Everyone besides them said he was the worst kind of traitor.

A part of Sakura even loved him still after ten years since he left Konoha. Naruto still considered Sasuke his eternal rival and vowed one day he would bring Sasuke to his knees for the pain he brought to the village. But not before he thanked the gods that he was safe and where he belonged. To see him again...it was what their dreams and nightmares were made of.

Tsunade carefully tossed the scroll to Naruto who caught it and handed it to Sakura. She looked it over with trembling fingers. She was going to see him again after all those years but this time she would not cry. She would not sit around and wait to rescued like all the other times when they were Genin. She would fight alongside Naruto and show Sasuke how much she improved. She would protect him with her life, even if he wouldn't know it was her. The scroll read:

_**Ninjas Needed**_

_**Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki**_

_**Mission Rank**_

_** S-Rank Protection Mission**_

_**Mission Time**_

_** 2-5 years**_

_**Survival Rate**_

_** 20 Percent If Done Correctly**_

_**Mission Objective(s)**_

_**+ Protect Sasuke Uchiha From Akatsuki Influence**_

_**+Join Snake As A Team Member **_

_**Materials/ Time Needed**_

_**+Forbidden Transformation Jutsu #9**_

_**+One Year of Strict Jutsu Training Under Jounin Kakashi**_

_**Failure Will Not Be Accepted. Do Not Reveal Yourselves.**_

_**Be Safe. Report When Needed Via Hidden Messenger Bird. **_

_**Good Luck**_

Sakura rolled it up and bowed before the Hokage, leaving without saying goodbye.

Naruto turned to look at the direction she went and sighed before turning back to the Hokage. "She needs time", he told her and she knodded in understanding.

"Naruto", he raised his head to look at her, "Do not attack Uchiha the first time you see him. It has been many years since you two have been together, do not reveal yourself".

He gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Granny, we'll do just great. So...I guess I'll...see you in two to five years?"

She sighed and smiled back, "Good luck Naruto".

* * *

Kakashi stopped by Sakura's house that night to tell her they were meeting at their old training grounds the next day, the day they would transform. She sat on the couch, in complete silence, and thought about that for a moment. She would be someone else, someone who doesn't have pink hair or maybe even green eyes. A stranger that could do different jutsus. She would turn into a complete stranger and would be known by a different name. But, she knew, it was the only way to help Sasuke. If he ever saw them again he wouldn't hesitate to slash them in half without letting them explain first. He would brush them off and say he didn't need them, just because they reminded him of what he used to be. The bonds he used to have.

The people that used to love him.

Sakura spent the majority of an hour twisting and turning on the couch, anxiety and nervousness passing through her.

What if Sasuke saw through her disguise? His dark eyes absorbed so much more things than light, what if she did something Sakura-like and he killed her? At that thought she scoffed at herself for being so childish. She was 23, why was she acting like a thirteen year old again? Amazing how after so many years, the thought of seeing him again made her convert to her old ways.

Her old, selfish ways.

Needless to say, Sakura had qualms about the whole mission so she went to the only person that could cheer her up. She remembered the days when Naruto used to annoy her so much. He always got in the way between her and her "true love" during their Team 7 days. Yep, her awkward first love days were filled with bonking Naruto on the head for saying something bad about Sasuke. She regretted doing that as she got older. Naruto was always there when she needed him to be, she would cry on his shoulder when her heart used to hurt so damn much. But they never spoke about it after it happened; there was no room for weaknesses in the life of a ninja.

Naruto always made her laugh on her bad days and helped her with anything he could. They were as close as blood brother and sister were. So much so that sometimes they slept over each other's houses and spent the entire night watching movies and anything else on at 2 am.

She walked to his apartment in the middle of the village and knocked on his door once she walked up some stairs. It wasn't that late at night, around seven, so he wasn't dressed for bed yet but he looked tired. He yawned, rubbed his eyes and blinked at her before his face stretched out in a grin.

"Hey Sakura", he motioned for her to come in, "I just woke up from my nap...ahh that was a goood nap". He stretched out his arms and yawned again before sitting on his green couch. He had purchased it a year before after much convincing from his friends. It seemed like he needed a "Naruto seat" in his small apartment, to sleep and sit and watch television. It was comfortable, it fitted a person like those Swedish foam beds, and has enough space for three people.

"Did you dream about Hinata again?", Sakura smirked at him and sat beside him.

A small blush rose to his cheeks, "Sakuraaa...you promised you would never bring that up again".

A few months ago he had a dream that the Hyuuga heiress was feeding him ramen while he sat on the Hokage's chair, teasing him ever so often with her mouth and fingers. She was dressed in nothing but a bath robe while he donned the white and red robes the Hokage wore. She stripped for him and then, when she was completely naked, started to shed his clothes before his clock woke him up. He awoke drenched in sweat and hot all over, not to mention slightly embarrassed. Having naughty dreams about an innocent girl like Hinata, he was ashamed of himself. Not to mention Neji would kick his ass if he ever found out. He told Sakura the reason he was so distracted lately and watched her giggle to herself while shouting "I knew it!" over and over again. Thankfully no one else knew about it.

"Sorry, just had to ask". They were quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, while the ticking of the clock could be heard. Tick...tock...tick...tock...a monotonous cycle that never ended. Sakura shifted and ran a hand through her hair slowly before sighing. Naruto's blue eyes narrowed slightly at her because he knew there was something she wanted to say. She always touched her hair when she had something to say. That and the way her eyes seemed to be less vibrant than a few days ago and he was instantly reminded at the mission they were assigned.

Sasuke, that bastard...that friggin inconsiderate bastard. He would hate him if he could but something always stopped him from feeling that way. Despite being moody and revenge driven all the time, deep down inside Sasuke didn't have a bad heart. He was just corrupted and confused, he didn't know where his priorities lied.

"Naruto?", he turned to hear her speak, "How do you feel about being someone else?".

He took a moment to understand what she was saying, "Someone else? Oh, the Transformation Jutsu? I don't know Sakura, I guess I've always wonder what it would be like to be someone else. Growing up that was my only wish, to be someone normal that people liked and wanted to hang out with. But this mission is for the good of Konoha. We can't let the Akatsuki get their hands on Sasuke. Think about it...we couldn't save him from Orochimaru, so let's save him from them now".

"But...I don't want to see him again. I want to help him and everything but...seeing him again is just too much. Last time at the old Sound Lair, I couldn't move when I saw him. His eyes do something to me Naruto! How can I handle being around him for years and gain his trust?".

He smiled, just like he always did when she was upset and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry about it Sakura, you're stronger now. You can kick anyone's ass with your awesome kunoichi powers, you'll be fine". Somehow Naruto always finds a way to make people believe in themselves as much as he believes in his dreams. He could lie to a person and make them feel better, Sakura just hoped he wasn't lying to her at that moment.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning they met at Team 7's old training grounds and saw something that signified the end of the world.

Kakashi Hatake, renowned copy ninja and one of the best Jounins in Konoha, was actually early for once.

In fact, he arrived at the same moment they did with two scrolls in his hands. They were the same sizes of the Heaven and Earth scrolls during the Chunin Exams but the colors were just different. "Hello Sakura, Naruto", they could tell he was smiling at them, "What's with the surprised expressions?"

"You're early Kakashi-sensei", said Naruto closing his gaping mouth and scratching the back of his head in pure Naruto fashion.

"Hmm, I guess I am your sensei once more. I can't say I'm looking forward to teaching you again Naruto".

The blonde feigned disappointment before smiling and saying, "Awww you know you love me Kakashi-sensei!"

"If you say so", nothing felt better than joking around with your childhood teacher. "Sakura", his attention went to his female student, "You are quiet this morning, is anything wrong?" His soft drawl sprung Sakura out of her daydream as she gazed at the scrolls in his hands, her eyes met his.

"Nothing Kakashi-sensei, I'm just a little nervous".

"No need to be", squatted and placed the red scroll in front of Naruto and the blue scroll in front of Sakura, "The Hokage wouldn't purposely send you on a suicide mission. Now open the scrolls". Naruto squatted, like Kakashi, and opened the flap of his slowly until he unfurled it on the ground. Following his example, Sakura also opened hers and read what it said:

_**Transformation Jutsu #9: Water Style**_

_**Caution User For This Jutsu Is Not For The Immature**_

_**Or The Mediocre Shinobi.**_

_**It Changes Outer Appearances**_

_**For Inner Appearances Cannot Be Altered.**_

_**Your Eyes, Your Hair, Your Body, Your Abilities**_

_**They Will Be Dormant Until You Transform Back.**_

_**This Jutsu Cannot Be Reversed By Any Means, **_

_**Used More Than Once,**_

_**Or Be Used For Evil Purposes.**_

_**For If A Soul Is Tainted,**_

_**This Jutsu Will Know,**_

_**And Cause Mind And Body To Rebel,**_

_**So They Will Never Work Together Again.**_

_**It Will Consume Your Identity.**_

**_Temporarily Change Your Destiney._**

_**You Will Seem To "Disappear".**_

_**Mind And Body Will Have To Learn To Synchronize Once More**_

_**For This Jutsu Gives You New Abilities**_

_**That Seemed Impossible Before.**_

_**Handle With Care**_

_**For It Is Forbidden **_

_**And Can Only Be Used With The Authority Of The Current Hokage.**_

_**Created By The Second Hokage of Konohagakure**_

"Prick your finger and sign your name at the bottom with your own blood".

"Like a Summoning Jutsu?" asked Naruto as he pricked his finger on a kunai from his jacket.

"Yes just like a Summoning Jutsu, except this time only your name will be there".

Sakura removed her black gloves and pricked her finger also with a kunai and signed her name. Her wound burned at little when she pressed it to the scroll but she managed to finish her name. After a few seconds the blood seemed to fade to a light pink and soon disappeared into the scroll, leaving behind no indication that her name was ever there.

"Did your name disappear yet?" he asked them, standing up and moving away from the scrolls. They knodded and he told them to move back a few feet and watch the scrolls. They started to ruffle a little though there was no wind and soon rolled themselves back up with a snap. A high pitched frequency sound filled the training grounds before both scrolls shot into the air in streaks of fire and water. They hissed as they collide with another in mid-air and never dropped back to the ground. The steam they created soon dissipated into the atmosphere.

"Well...that was unexpected", said Naruto looking over to Sakura as she knodded.

"Kakashi-sensei, the just said it was created by the second Hokage. Is that true?"

The white haired man knodded, "He created it for emergency situations that he knew would arise in the future. He created a fire style and water style so the jutsu could be effective and the original person could never be identified".

"Wait I have a question!" Naruto looked at Kakashi, "Why is it that the Hokage chose us for this mission? Isn't any other ninja free?"

"Neji, Tenten and Lee are on a mission in the Wind Country. Ino is still at the hospital in critical condition with Shikamaru at by her side. Kiba, Shino and Hinata left on a mission yesterday morning. Choji is taking a break for a while to relax his broken arm. Honestly, you too were the only ones left".

Jeez, thanks for the vote of confidence sensei, thought Sakura crossing her arms.

"Ah man, are you serious?" whined Naruto as he two crossed his arms.

"I'm just kidding! The Hokage has been debating this issue for the last few weeks", he looked at them sheepishly, "You are capable for this and will take the mission seriously. Any other ninja would try to kill Sasuke before trying to join his side. You two can be trusted".

Naruto knodded and then seemed to freeze, "Kakashi-sensei, when will the jutsu start?"

"It happens overnight and you will not feel a thing. Meet me here again tomorrow mornning for training with your new jutsus. We will have a strict schedule if you want to reach Jounin level in a year".

"We will be at Academy Student level, right Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura did not like that little fact.

"Academy Student?!" yelled Naruto with horror, "I'll have to learn the Clone Jutsu all over again!".

"Relax Naruto, your body and chakra levels will be different from your own. It will either be easier or harder to learn jutsus from now on".

"Harder?" Naruto huffed,"Uggh! Can't you give any good news Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well...".The mention of Ino a few minutes ago reminded Sakura she needed to visit her best friend. The blond kunoichi returned from one of her missions in the arms of an allied ninja with kunai's embedded all over her. Sakura remembered Shikamaru's face when he first heard the news about his wife; he was utterly heartbroken and depressed. Choji told her that Shikamaru cried a little that night in the hospital when he was alone. He also considered going after those ninjas and killing them slowly and painfully buy realized Ino needed him more.

"Excuse me, Kakashi-sensei? Can I go to the hospital now please?"

"Sure, just remember tomorrow".

"Bye Sakura!" When she was out of ear shot, Naruto looked downcast and turned to Kakashi. "When I transform, will I still have...still be..." he motioned to the seal on his stomach.

Kakashi's eye followed his movement and he sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Yes Naruto, you have read the jutsu correct? 'Inner appearances cannot be altered'. He will be within you but you can't use his chakra and he'll be asleep, almost paralyzed. Keep the seal hidden from Sasuke and you'll be fine".

The blonde put a hand over his stomach, deep in thought. For the first time in his life, he would have to fight without the Nine Tailed Fox Demon's help. He didn't like to admit it, but it saved him more times than he could remember. It all started with that mission during his Genin days in the Land of Waves with Haku and Sasuke. Finally he would have no advantage over anybody and no reason to be different. That was always his dream, so why did he feel like he was loosing a part of himself?

* * *

Sakura hurried on her way straight to the hospital and ignored people's attempts to speak to her and walked through the Konoha Hospital Entrance. "Hello Sakura", a nurse called to her. She waved back and ran up the stairs until she reached the third floor. She knew where the room was by heart now, Room 16 at the end of the hall. Her chart was in a folder on the door and Sakura looked at it for a moment, memorizing any changes. It seemed as though Ino was getting a little better but she was still in critical condition and her chances at survival seemed slim. She didn't cry as she used to when Ino first entered the hospital and given a 2 chance of survival. She used her Healing Jutsu day and night to say her and was rewarded when her heart started up again. 

She opened the door carefully so she wouldn't disturb the man in the room. The sight that awaited her was always the same whenever she entered Ino's room. She was still unconscious and the sound of the heart monitor was the only thing that filled the room. Her blonde hair was a mess and a lot longer than it ever was before. Her skin was pale and her breaths were shallow though they kept her alive. Her husband, the Shadow Manipulator, sat on the chair nearest to her bed with her hand clutched in his.

It seemed as though he never left her side.

Tsunade had tried to assign him a mission but he refused to talk to anyone but Sakura. He just gave them the most heartbreaking stare anyone has ever seen and they leave him alone. It's hard to see someone you thought of strong, unbreakable, for so long crack right before your eyes.

"Shikamaru", Sakura called to him softly by the door, "You need to eat something, you're loosing weight".

He didn't turn to her but said, "Is there any change?" His voice was raspy with disuse and she saw him stroke her cold hand, something he did periodically.

"She's improving but slowly", she saw him knod his head, "I'm serious Shikamaru, you need to eat something. Come, I'll buy you some ramen".

"No", he still didn't turn to face her, "I'm staying here, what if she needs me when she wakes up?"

He said that every time and Sakura didn't have the heart to tell him Ino wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. She didn't want to hurt him anymore with all the bad news she'd been giving him lately.

Inoichi Yamanaka and his wife came to the hospital at least every two days to check up on Ino's condition and bring Shikamaru some food. He always ate what they brought him and that was the only nourishment he depended on to survive.

"I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow and won't be back for sometime. When Ino wakes up, tell her that I love her and wish her a safe recovery". Shikamaru turned to look over his shoulder, his soft brown eyes made her feel worse. He also depended on her medical ninja skills to keep Ino alive, she just wished he knew the importance of her mission.

"Alright I will. Thank you and good luck Sakura".

"Same to you Shikamaru, take care of yourself".

* * *

That night as she dressed for bed, she was curious as to what she would look like because of the transformation. Maybe she would be more attractive, like Tsunade in the looks department and just as lethal. Maybe she would have strange, exotic looks like Kurenai's fiery eyes or Anko's purple hair. Or maybe even Temari's sandy blonde locks.

She slipped between the covers of her bed and sighed, whatever she transformed into she hoped the water jutsus she would learn could kick some serious ass.

The time had finally come where she would prove to him that she was more than capable of being a ninja.

They were finally going to be equals.


	4. Chapter 4

_Where am I? _

_**Sakura...**_

_What...who's there?_

_**Sakura...**_

_Hello! I'm talking to you..._

_**Sakura...I'm waiting for you...**_

_Waiting for me? Who are you?_

_**Sakura...come to me**_

_Who are you? How can I come to you if I don't know who you are?!_

_**Sakura...come to me...I need you...**_

_What...wait come back..._

_**Sakura...**_

_Wait...don't go...it's dark in here!_

_**Sakura...**_

_Don't leave me alone...please_

_**Come for me...**_

_Wait…_

* * *

Sunlight streamed into her room through the window, dancing on her face. She blinked in annoyance and stretched before throwing the covers away and walking toward the bathroom. She'd been having that dream for a few days now, though she never knew who was talking to her. It seemed as though she'd heard it before but forgot it over time, like an old song from childhood that feels so comforting when you hear it as an adult. 

Her body seemed different for some reason but she couldn't tell where or how. It was just different in a weird way. She turned on the bathroom light and looked into the mirror, not expecting what she saw.

Bright blue eyes stared back at her, lightly tanned face surrounded by straight black hair that curled at the ends. "Ahhhhh!" she screamed, even her voice was different. It had an indescribable accent to it that made her sound alluring and mysterious.

Alluring?

Mysterious?

What the hell?

She calmed herself down remembering the jutsu and looked closer into the mirror. Her eyes were the same size just the color of Naruto's and her hair wasn't spiked in layers like it usually was. Sakura had a side bang but the rest of her hair was even. It reached down her mid-back and was soft to touch, like silk. Her facial features were different though. Her mouth looked more sensual and she had fuller lips than before. Her body was also fuller than she remembered; she filled out in all the right places. No wonder her shirt fit a little tighter all of a sudden. "Whoa! The transformation really worked! I need to go tell Naruto!" She changed into some black shorts and picked up the first clean shirt she saw, it was blue with a rhinestone star in the center.

She was about to put on her Konoha Headband when she remembered she was no longer Sakura Haruno of Konoha and someone would question her about it. She just touched the cool metal once before exiting her apartment; it was time to go see Naruto. Sakura ran to Naruto's apartment and almost knocked down his door with the strength she was knocking.

"I'm coming! Wait a minute", a foreign voice said to her and someone opened the door. She was amazed at what she saw. Naruto, the blonde blue eyed ninja, was no more and there stood his transformed body. He was the same height he always was but there were many changes. His eyes were dark green and twinkled in the soft light, skin the same shade as his as well. His new thick, dark red hair fell down to his waist. His body was thicker and he had broader shoulders that made him so much more intimidating.

"Naruto?", she asked him, touching his hair softly.

He looked at her and gasped, "No...Sakura?".

"The jutsu really worked, we look nothing like our old selves".

Naruto blinked down at her and smiled, "You look amazing Sakura but...HEY! You have my eyes!". He cupped her chin gently and looked at her eyes, scowling playfully. She smiled at him and it made him blush a little, he couldn't see Sakura inside of the dark haired girl before him. She looked like a complete hot stranger that wanted to talk to him. It's back to square one, he thought to himself, back to our Genin days.

"Let's go to the training grounds", she told him, "I'll meet you there". It was gonna be a looong two to five years.

* * *

Unlike the day before, Kakashi wasn't waiting for them. He was about half an hour late and glared at them when he first saw them. "Excuse me, but this is a private training ground. You have to leave". 

"Kakashi-sensei", Sakura said, his eye widened at the sight of her, "It's us!".

He turned to the now red head, "Naruto? Is that you?".

Naruto smiled brightly, "Yea Kakashi-sensei, I'm sexy right?". He then posed in his Sexy Jutsu pose, Kakashi cringed.

"That's...not...the...word...I...would...use", he said slowly and enjoyed when Naruto's smile dropped off his face.

"Ha ha very funny", Naruto replied dryly.

"Have you thought of names for yourselves?", the Jounin asked them. They thought about it for a few moments to themselves.

"Koya", Sakura said, smiling to herself.

"Koya?", Naruto replied, "It doesn't suit you much, how about Sora?".

"Sora", repeated Kakashi, "I like it".

"Yea", Sakura looked at the sky above her, "It sounds nice, now how about a name for Naruto".

"Midori", said Kakashi grabbing a handful of Naruto's hair, putting his face near Sakura's and pointing at his green eyes.

Naruto was not amused, "Oww that hurts man!".

"Perfect", Sakura said and watched as Kakashi moved away.

"You will now be known as only Sora and Midori for the duration of this mission. As far as anyone else in concerned, Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki are on a top secret mission from which they will not return for a while. You will still train with me for a year but do not talk with any of your old friends, the risk is too extreme for that. Any question?".

"Can we have cool nicknames?", the red head scratched his head thoughtfully, "Can I be known as Midori the Fire Breather?".

"Can you breathe fire, Midori?", asked the Jounin casually, somehow his emotionless voice could make any person feel stupid.

"No but I will eventually right?", Kakashi sighed.

"Nicknames are not as important as training so you won't die on this mission. Once you become notorious you will gain a nickname and cement a status in someone's bingo book, understand?".

"Yes, Copy Ninja".

"Now we have to start from the beginning. Both of you, perform a Disguise Jutsu". 'Sora' and 'Midori' walked to a tree in the training grounds and put their backs against it, closing their eyes. Sakura remembered what Iruka-sensei said about blending into the surroundings and relaxing the body. Nothing happened for a while because they were still not used to using their new bodies. Their chakra levels were much different than they imagined.

After a few minutes, Naruto looked down at his hand and saw that it had blended into the bark of the tree, making it seem like he had no hand. He relaxed and continued what he was doing, soon all that was visible was his head. Sakura was having more trouble than Naruto, only one of her fingers camouflaged itself.

"Relax further Sakura, become the tree". That sounded so generic in a situation like that. Kakashi then said, "Good job 'Midori', you can reappear now".

Apparently Naruto had done the jutsu well, no real surprise there. After training with Jiraiya for a few years when he was younger, he went all out when it came to learning jutsus. He was so much more dedicated now and didn't fool around when it came to ninja training.

Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her," Come on 'Sora', just like sensei said become the tree". Become the tree, become the tree, become the tree...she repeated to herself in her head.

_Weak_, a rough voice called out to her. It wasn't Inner Sakura because she disappeared a few years ago and never returned. Sakura was a little glad for that, it was weird to have a voice talk to you. But now somehow a voice had penetrated her thoughts again and it sounded so familiar. _You're so annoying_, the voice teased her bringing about two memories.

One was during her Team 7 days when she and Sasuke talked on that bench and he called her that. She was talking about Naruto and how he was always alone and that was why he was acting out. Sasuke growled at her that she was annoying then because he was also alone and she didn't know how that felt at the moment.

The second memory was before he knocked her out on that cold night and left her on said bench, to pursue his dream of becoming powerful and killing his brother.

_Perfect_, Sakura concentrated harder, _why do I always hear his voice in my head?_ She vaguely wondered if his voice had changed over the years, if it was still as course as raw silk.

Were his eyes were still as hypnotizing as they always were?

Would he see behind the jutsu when he saw her?

Or would he like 'Sora' more than he liked, if at all, Sakura?

"Good 'Sora'", Naruto smiled brightly at her. She was confused for a moment until her body came back into view, she camouflaged? But she was daydreaming! She wasn't even concentrating on disappearing! She was thinking about...Sasuke. _But I don't love him anymore_, she smiled at Kakashi who was looking at her strangly, _I got over that_. "

"Now, try a Clone Jutsu". Not a second after he finished his sentence, two 'Sora' and 'Midori' clones poofed next to their originals. Kakashi looked at the two clones closely before clapping, "Very nice, I can safely say you are now at Genin status".

"Great", Naruto said sarcastically making his clone disappear.

"Let's see how good your aim is, his the dead center of that tree", he pointed to the tree across from where they were. Naruto and Sakura produced two kunai and threw them at the same time, watching as they bounced off each other before hitting the tree. Kakashi scooped the kunais from the ground and handed them back to their students, telling them to go one at a time. 'Sora' was first and had very good aim, hitting the center of the tree. 'Midori' took a few more tries but then he also hit the center, he was so happy 'Sora' thought he was about to shout DATTEBAYO like his old self. They practiced until they ran out of kunais and then waited for further instruction.

Their teacher then told them to sit on the ground and produce hand signs with their proper names. "'Midori', what are the 12 hand signs?".

"Ne", said the man, creating the hand sign for Rat ."Ushi", the hand sign for Ox. "Tora" ,the hand sign for Tiger."U, Tatsu, Mi, Uma, Hitsuji, Saru, Tori, Inu, I ", he continued with the hand signs for Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey ,Bird, Dog and Boar.

"Good, I have a question. Do you remember during our journey to the Land of Waves, the Water Dragon Jutsu?". How could they not remember? It had the ridiculous long stream of hand signs that took almost forever to complete. The jutsu was pretty awesome though, despite being so long. "Would you like to learn it 'Sora'?".

"Sure" ,she replied trying to see if she remembered all the hand signs...no luck.

"'Midori' you will learn a different variation of the jutsu called the Fire Dragon Jutsu. The same attack with just fire and you have to learn the hand signs backwards".

It was gonna be a long mission after all.

By sunset Sakura had memorized all the names of the hand signs for the attack and recited them back to Kakashi."Ushi, Saru, U, Ne, I, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori, Ne, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mi, Ushi, Hitsuji, Mi, I, Hitsuji, Ne, Ji Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mi, Ne, Saru, U, I,Tatsu, Hitsuji, Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Ji Ne, I, Ji, Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mi, Ne, Saru, U, I, Tatsu, Ushi, Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Ji Ne, I, Tori".She let out a deep breath and sat on the ground, feeling lightheaded. Maybe she should of taken a breath in between saying all the hand signs...

"Now say them backwards Midori", Kakashi noticed the red head looking confused.

"Uhhh...hehe", he turned to Sora and scratched his head again,"Can you repeat them again for me?".

"Midori!", she scowled at him darkly, "Pay attention next time, alright?".

After so many changes, he was still the same Naruto on the inside. That could be the weakness that gave them away if they weren't careful.


	5. Chapter 5

Six months later they were at Chunin level bordering on Jounin and completely used to their new identities. They never spoke to any of the Konoha ninjas because they were just strangers now but that didn't mean that the other ninjas didn't talk about them. Kiba was curious about the blue eyed babe, or as Lee said "The youthful blossom that has blessed Konoha with her astounding beauty!" that popped out of nowhere and tried to find what her name was. It was so hard considering that no one knew who she was; no one had ever seen her before. Whenever he saw her she was with a long haired guy that laughed and smiled a lot. No one seemed to know his name either and whenever he asked Kakashi or Kurenai they just changed the subject.

Sai, he was a loner now since both of his "friends" were gone, was told about the mission in secret by Sora and Midori's sensei one day. He would have to use his ink birds to deliver messages to them discreetly so no one would know, especially Sasuke. The bond that missing ninja had with Naruto and Sakura was weird and a little unnerving. How could they still want to help him after so many years? Were they so blind?

But back to Midori and Sora who had adopted new outfits for themselves that they would wear on their mission. Sora wore a black shorts and a black sweater with quarter length sleeves that had a blue stripe across the front. She wore ankle ninja length boots and her own black gloves that she never wanted to take off. Midori wore black, to match his companion, except he had red stripes all over. His black and red jumpsuit fitted him just like his old orange one did and that was why he liked it so much.

Despite training them in Ninjutsu, Kakashi also trained them how to drop every expression from their face so they never gave away what they were thinking. He also taught them to glare properly, apparently there were certain aspects to it. First they had to squint their eyes slightly and pinch the mouth area tightly, almost in a scowl. Then they had to either cross their arms, Midori, or put their hands on their hips, Sora, so they practically oozed bad aura.

Though it was a lie, the Hokage sent a secret message to all the neighboring provinces warning them about the elusive Sora and Midori. She painted them as master thieves that possessed water and fire jutsus and called them Fire and Water Bandits. In her message, she also included that as long as no one attacked them they would leave everyone alone. It seemed like the whole first part of the mission was continuing without a glitch, only time would tell if anything unexpected happened.

* * *

At a training forest on the eastern side of Konoha, Sora was standing in the middle of a calm river with Midori on land beside her. The water was cool against the soles of her boots and practically lulled her to sleep with its smooth gushing sound. She had a connection with water now, just like the people of Kirigakure who often slept by rivers so their chakras could be replenished. Carefully, she deposited some of her own chakra into the river through her feet to make it slightly denser and powerful enough to knock someone down. 

Kakashi was a few feet before them, body relaxed and hands held in a Tora seal. It was the beginning of the training session that would decide if they were ready for the mission of not. Sora breathed in and started with the Ox hand sign while Midori started with Bird, they could perfect their coordination without even looking at each other. Many hand signs and animal names were shouted after that, one repeated them one way and the other one the reversed way.

"Tori!"

"Ushi!".

"Water Style!".

"Fire Style!".

"Water Dragon Jutsu!"

"Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

For a few milliseconds the river was calm before it grew dense, to the point where it no longer felt like a river and more like a soft mud. The surface of the river moved on its own and rose to form lump of water that soon grew into an arc. The neck of the dragon emerged from the water like a whip lashing around, moving just as fluidly. It was light blue in color and rippled all over with light red eyes that shone with grace and danger. The dragon glared at Kakashi before springing to attack him, opening its mouth wide.

While that was happening, Midori took a deep breath and exhaled, a tunnel of fire expelling from his mouth. The force was so great he stumbled back a little away from the fire and stared at the body of the dragon. It was red orange and flickered like a candle, rearing up before rushing to attack.

If they were ever side by side and not looking so intimidating, a person could see that the dragons were complete opposites of each other. One was blue with red eyes while the other was red with light blue eyes, negative and positive energy creating a balance that packed one hell of a punch. The two dragons somehow met in the air without touching each other, moving around one another in a confusing dragon dance. An onlooker would think that the two beasts would somehow touch and evaporate the other but that never happened. They growled in unison and slammed into Kakashi, dousing him in a cloud of steam.

When the vapor subsided a very wet white haired Jounin could still be seen, burns all over his body. Droplets from his hair dribbled down his masked face before falling back into the river. He disappeared into thin air and clapping could be heard, training with a Kakashi Shadow Clone was over.

The real Kakashi jumped down from his perch in a tree and continued to clap slowly for them, they could tell he was smiling. "You're getting quick with your hand signs and that's very important. Your enemies will not wait for you before attacking. Sora, show me the jutsu you've been working on".

Sora turned to him and performed a hand sign quickly, "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu". That was a jutsu in honor of Zabuza Momochi, taught because of the ability it has to blind the Sharingan. If Sasuke would ever go crazy and attack them, Sora would have an advantage. She would only let him see what she wanted him to see. Thick fog blanketed the area and a sense of déjà vu was felt because of that fateful day in the Land of Waves.

The rouge ninja they met somehow changed the way they viewed others considered evil. He was the perfect example of a person who deep down inside (beneath a nasty sword, corrupted desires, and a blood filled past) wasn't that bad. Okay, so maybe he was one of the Seven Demon Swordsmen of the Mist and killed a lot of people, but he died for the good of others and finally realized what was important in life even if it was too late. Kakashi knew that and honored Zabuza by letting his jutsus live on. Almost all the water jutsus Sora knew were once performed by Zabuza at one time or another.

They practiced for months after that, Sora on water jutsus and Midori on fire jutsus. During the final two months of their strict training, they trained for days at a time to perfect all of their moves. The mission itself was to protect Sasuke from the Akatsuki but they had to join his team first in order to be close to him. They knew he didn't like ninjas who were weak on his team so they had to prove to him what they could do. Hopefully their dragon jutsus would impress him enough.

* * *

Soon Sora and Midori were both at Jounin level and their year was up, the mission would have to begin. It passed all in a flash to them, it seemed like just yesterday they transformed into their new selves. The Hokage gave them a secret scroll that they "stole" so they could present it to Sasuke. Tsunade only said that the scroll contained something that Sasuke would find interesting. It would also make everyone believe they were really thieves when Leaf Shinobi came to attack them. 

Neji's and Kiba's team were both assigned the follow them and "attack" to make it look realistic. They questioned who Sora and Midori really were but the Hokage just told them they were allies and to trust them. Neji's team would "attack" them the day after they joined Team Snake and demand they give him the scroll. It would be interesting seeing the Uchiha again, Neji just hoped his hands didn't "accidentally" slip and strike down the man by blocking all his chakra points. His hands often "slipped" around traitors of Konoha, he couldn't help it.

The morning of their mission, Sora and Midori were at the Konoha Gates waiting for Kakashi. They both carried a light backpack filled with antidotes, pills and some food. The presumed stolen scroll was in Midori's pack for safety reasons. He was bigger so there was no threat of anyone trying to pull a fast one on him. Kakashi arrived before them with Pakkun at his side a few minutes later. Seemed like he performed his Summoning: Earth Style: Fanged Pursuit Jutsu in his home that morning.

The dog wasn't very talkative and just settled for a saying a hello to each of them before taking off. Before they followed him, Kakashi stopped them and showed them something he had in his hand.

On his gloved palm were two small spider-like metal devices that had a green center. "These are trackers, hold your hair up please". Sora held her ebony locks up and he put the tracker on the back of her neck, just below her hairline. He tapped it once and it snapped into place, making her wince. The tiny claws clenched onto her skin tightly with no hope of letting go. Midori was next and flinched slightly at the pain, looking at Kakashi with doubt.

"Is it suppose to hurt this bad?", he asked wiping a bead of blood off his neck.

"It will always stay on that way and never reveal it. It will help us keep track of you no matter how far you go. Now go and good luck, don't fail me". They knodded to him and bowed before jumping from branch to branch and away from Konoha.

About a mile from the village, each of them realized that their mission had begun.

Everything they said, did and thought after that point affected the way the mission would turn out.

Seeing Sasuke again...was like a dream come true...or a nightmare...Sora never knew which. As foolish as it sounded, it felt as if she was meeting her heart again after all those years. She never loved after him and never tried to. _When you give someone your heart, you never get it back in the same condition you gave it...if you get it back at all_. He still had her heart and if he died or anything bad happened to him, she would never get it back. She needed to protect her heart...by protecting him first.

The little dog was faster than ever before and they ran for hours without stopping. Sora and Midori knew that their new bodies gave them extra stamina but they never tested it to those lengths before. They ran for days and almost passed out each time they got to a resting point, what the hell was Kakashi feeding that dog anyway?

On the fifth day Pakkun started running again after two hours of rest and they had no choice but to follow him until he stopped on a nearby branch. His drooping face was turned North and sniffed once before speaking to them. "He is twenty-five miles from this spot, go north and you will find him there".

"Thanks Pakkun", said Midori petting him on the head.

"Yea, yea just don't get killed or anything", he scowled, if it was even considered a scowl...he was a dog for crying out loud! He left them and sprinted back to Konoha, leaving them to face Sasuke alone.

Sora and Midori jumped swiftly and quietly through the trees, close to one another.

"Hey Sakura", he called her for the first time in a year.

She smirked at him, "Yea Naruto?".

"Are you ready?", she got a glimpse of who he really was underneath. Naruto was still there underneath that disguise and he was there with her, she wouldn't have to face Sasuke alone like in her dreams. He would have her back no matter what happened, no matter how much Sasuke had changed.

"Yes, let's go".

_I__'m coming for you Sasuke, be ready. _


	6. Chapter 6

They stopped a few branches from Team Snake's campsite and watched the people before them.

Sora and Midori couldn't move, couldn't breathe, it felt as if it was a dream.

Sora couldn't feel the hard wood beneath her feet, the small branches that scratched her every time they moved. She pinched the inside of her elbow to see if it was a dream but they pain told her it was all real. There he was...just like he always was to her...so close yet so far away.

Midori grabbed a few strands of his hair and tugged because his body felt like it was paralyzed.

_Found you Sasuke_.

How many times had he dreamed about seeing his old rival again? Twenty three...twenty three dreams and nightmares since Sasuke left the Hidden Leaf Village. In almost half the dreams, he killed Sasuke and before he died, every time, he would confess that Naruto and Sakura were the only friends he ever had and going with Orochimaru was a mistake. That he really loved Sakura as much as she loved him and was just afraid of loosing everything all over again because she needed protection. That the only reason he wanted to be stronger was to protect their intertwined futures. In other dreams, Sasuke would kill him and he couldn't think of a better way to die than by the hands of his own friend. The friend who pushed to him to be the best and helped him become stronger by pushing him to the limit.

But nothing could prepare Sora and Midori for the moment they saw Sasuke's new group, nothing in the world.

One had pasty blue skin and looked like Itachi's old Akatsuki partner, Kisame. He had the same teeth, the disturbing smile, and carried something extraordinary on his back. "It's Zabuza's sword", Midori whispered to her and it made her eyes narrow. What was Sharkboy doing with Zabuza's sword? If Sora remembered correctly, Zabuza's sword was placed on his grave when he died...if Sharkboy had it that meant that they traveled to the Land of Waves...and crossed the Great Naruto Bridge. _Interesting_, thought Midori, _Seems like Zabuza had a stalker_.

There was a girl in the group as well, who had red eyes and even redder hair. Her glasses made her look intelligent and by the way she was looking at Sasuke she was interested in him. But there was something disturbing about her, maybe it was the fact that half her hair was short and messy while the other half was long and smooth. Was it a new style that said: Look at me! I don't look stupid at all! or something? She was talking to Sharkboy, well...it was more like she was nagging him about something, and was being ignored by the way he rolled his cyan eyes.

The spiky haired man to the left of Sasuke drinking water looked lost in his own thoughts and every few minutes looked around him, as if paranoid someone was there. He looked pretty normal, his hair was wild yet without tangles, but they could tell he was hiding something. He looked too normal to be associated with Team Snake on the outside but, Sora bet, if she took a peak at his mind she would be scarred for life.

It was official...no one in Team Snake was normal.

It was like Orochimaru's own group of misfit toys that he used to play with before he got careless and was killed by one of them.

Oh well, who really gives a damn? Everyone and their mothers knew he walked right into that one when he trained his "toy" to be stronger than himself.

Stupid slimy bastard.

Anyway, last but not least was Sasuke Uchiha and all his abdominal glory. Seriously, would it kill him to put a shirt on or cover up a little? Sora had a hard time keeping her breath steady. Though he was sitting down, the two ninjas could tell he had grown taller and leaner too by the way sunlight glinted off his muscles. How could he be out in the sun all day and never get tanned? His hair was the same style but looked a little darker, to the point where the blue tint was hardly noticeable anymore.

But their observations were cut short when the girl in the campsite suddenly looked into the foliage right where they were, "We're being watched".

_Oooo how scary, siiiike_, Midori was not even the least bit frightened. He used to think seeing Team Snake would scare him but they just made him want to kick some ass.

"Show yourselves", said Sharkboy grabbing the handle of his sword. _Oooo how scary, he's going to blind me with his big shining sword._

With a kunai in each hand, Sora jumped down first followed by Midori who carried a shuriken between two fingers. Sasuke's dark eyes turned to Sora and she felt her insides screaming. His eyes, like his hair, seemed darker than before and his face was completely neutral as he looked at her closely. The glasses girl seemed to notice and came forward to Sora asking, "Who are you and what do you want?"

_Remember to disguise your personality, don't let Sasuke remember you_. "Step aside Four Eyes, let me talk to your leader".

Sharkboy barked out a laugh that he tried to pass for a cough when the girl glared at him, Midori smirked.

"Who are you?", asked Sasuke, his voice made her shiver. It was still as dark and sensual as it always was, thank goodness she did not blush at that moment. Why the hell was everything about this man dark but his skin?

"I am Sora and this is Midori, we want to join to your team."

"No, no, absolutely not!", screamed the girl, the hell was her problem?

"Karin, let the woman the speak", rumbled the broad shouldered man in the corner. He glanced at Sora for a moment before looking away, staring into the camp fire.

"What can you offer?", Sasuke spoke again, looking disinterested. She froze a moment, not knowing what to say. Back in the Team 7 days, Sakura would have gladly given him anything he needed, would she do that same now?

Midori put a hand on her shoulder, "We can offer protection from those nuisances that call themselves Leaf Ninja, you all should conserve your chakra". As he said this, his nails dug into Sora's shoulder inconspicuously. He seemed to pain him to say that, kissing up to his eternal rival. It took all self control not to rip Sasuke apart where he sat for all the trouble he's caused to his village.

"Impress me", the last Uchiha said fingering his sword. _Impress you...impress you?!! _thought Naruto, Sasuke could still piss him off with just one word_, how about I impress you by sticking my kunai down your throat, pulling out your non-existent heart and feeding it to your little shark buddy. How about that Sasuke, will that impress you?!!. I can't believe you replaced us with these freaks Sasuke, I thought you were better than that._ He would have loved to abandon the mission right then and there and just kill Sasuke. But the jutsu was for a long time and the mission needed to be completed or else.

Midori did the reverse hand signs of the Fire Dragon Jutsu first, since there was no large source of water near, concentrating on a tree before him. Sora saw how Sharkboy's eyes looked at Midori's hands, like he knew the jutsu or something. "Saru...Ushi! Fire Style! Fire Dragon Jutsu!". This time the force of the jutsu almost knocked him back on his ass but he pushed forward instead. The huge fire dragon twirled itself in the air a few times before roaring, twinkling its light blue eyes. It crashed into the trees and it erupted in flames, lighting up the entire night.

_A fire jutsu_, Sasuke thought to himself, _hmm_.

"Good going genius", Karin told him, smirking to herself.

_She wants to die_, Sora told herself, _she really wants to die_. "Is there a river around here?", she asked, looking around the forest.

"North, a couple of yards from here", answered Sharkboy, pointing North. Sora ran quickly in the direction and suddenly found herself in a small stream, the thing was just a small trickle of water. She felt bad about wasting it but that thought could not be entertained. She performed the hand signs anyways,"Tori, Ji Ne, I...Tori! Water Style! Water Dragon Jutsu!". The stream lifted itself clear off the bank, the dragon roared through the night air.

Crazygirl and Sharkboy followed the dragon with its eyes, muttering an "Oh shit" when it passed them at full speed and headed for the inflamed tree. The water hissed as it extinguished the fire, leaving the tree black and thoroughly burned.

"You can do water jutsus?", asked Sharkboy when she returned, "Are you from Kirigakure?".

Midori waited by her side for her answer until Karin interrupted her, "But then...that would mean that the red head is from Konohagakure!". _You don't know how right you are_.

"You could say that", Midori looked at Karin, "My grandparents were from Konohagakure, I've never been there before".

"Then who trained you?", she was trying so hard to catch him on his bluff.

"I bought stolen scrolls from a merchant in my village and taught myself". _Way to go Naruto! _Sora mentally applauded his bold face lie.

"You have not impressed me", came a cold voice.

"Me either", Crazygirl crossed her arms and tried to look intimidating but it worked against them.

"I like them", the bulky one said again, eyeing Sora.

"Me too", Sharkboy was vouching for them? "We're practically kin!", he gave Sora a one armed hug, pulling her to him. His skin was so fluid-like and cold, like he was a walking, talking form of water. When they pulled apart, the side of her clothes was drenched in water. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, _What the hell is this guy anyway?_

"But we don't need them", Crazygirl whined, "Itachi is already dead, what good would they do? They would just get us caught!".

Sasuke didn't flinch at the mention of his dead brother, he just turned his dark, tired gaze on her wordlessly. He would of glared at her into submission if she was looking at him, but she was turned toward Sora. The blue eyed girl could tell that Crazygirl thought she was the Alpha Female in the group. She was...for a while and now she would need to step down. Old jealously surfaced in Sakura, like when she was thirteen and would see Ino all over Sasuke. She just wanted to tear this girl apart, starting with her crazy, you-fucked-yourself-up hairstyle.

"Don't get us caught and stay out of our way, understood?"

"But Sasuke...",the freak whined.

"Enough Karin", he silenced her and stood up, walking away from the campsite. He glanced at Sora before disappearing into the thick growth of the forest.

"He does that often", said Sharkboy, falling to the ground and getting comfortable," He goes to meditate or whatever, comes back in the middle of the night every time".

"What's your name?", Midori asked putting his pack on the ground to rest his shoulders.

"I'm Suigetsu, that's Jugo", he pointed to the quietest of the four, "And you know Karin". Under his breath he murmured,"Fugly bitch".

She heard, he wasn't that far away from her, and kicked him on the head, causing both of them to get into bad moods. "Damn it Karin, what the hell was that for?".

"I'm not fugly, I'm beautiful!".

_O...kay, that's uncharted territory_.

Not wanting to get involved, Sora and Midori jumped to a huge branch above them that supported two people. It was the same branch they were just on. They got as comfortable as they could on it and stretched out on it next to each other, watching the stars through the many leaves. They sparkled as far as the eye could see, giving people something to believe in. Something to hang onto in a time of hardship and confusion.

"Can we really do this?", Sora whispered to Midori, his eyes were closed, "How long can we last?".

He rolled on his side to face her, opening his forest green eyes at her. "Relax Sakura", he whispered it right into her ear so no one would overhear him, "Everything is gonna be fine, sleep".

_I hope so. I finally have Sasuke back after all these years and it still feels like we're a million miles apart. When will I close the distance, can I close the distance. It doesn't seem like he's changed much but why do I feel like there is. What is he hiding from everyone? _


	7. Chapter 7

Eyes that rivaled the night itself looked out over the forest from a high branch in one of the sturdiest trees. It was his unofficial "spot", he went there almost every night just to sit and think. The sky was dark and unmoving above him, not even a breeze could be felt.

He remembered a time when the sky wasn't so morbid looking, when it was bright with stars and the moon. On nights like those, he used to climb to the roof of his apartment complex in Konoha and just watch the sky until the sun came up.

His mother used to tell him stories about the mythical Phoenix when he was younger. Young and naive enough to believe that the world was good and he had the greatest family in the whole wide world. When ever the constellation itself was visible, she would take him to the highest hill in the Uchiha land and point out the phoenix.

_

* * *

"It's a firebird that dies of its own fire, only to be born again from the ashes of its death. It lives forever because it never truly dies, in a cycle that starts the same way it ends. Do you understand Sasuke? That is how we all should live out lives, like a Phoenix. We should rise above our defeat and try to live, live to see the sun another day. Soon enough you will control fire, my son, let it cleanse you instead of bringing you sorrow."_

_"I understand mother, I will start and fan the flames that will bring defeat to others", he would recite to her, straight from the mouths of the elders of the Clan._

_"No Sasuke", she would smile down to him," Since winning is never guaranteed, try your hardest to be the best no matter how many times you fall"._

* * *

He never understood what his mother was talking about until her death, when he had to rise above the ashes and become stronger. _If I were a Phoenix_, he used to think, _I have died many times over in my life_. He died when his clan was murdered by his own brother, died when he received the curse mark, died when he left Konoha, died when he killed Orochimaru and died when he finally killed his brother. Each and every time he was born again, he was born a little more corrupted and emptier than his former self. That was not the way in which Mikoto Uchiha intended her son to be like Phoenix. 

He gripped the branch under him and dug his nails into the bark, he did not feel any pain. He never felt pain anymore. Sleep was the farthest thing from Sasuke's mind that night, any night for that matter. Since he killed his brother two years ago, he had found himself to become a semi-insomniac. Whenever he did sleep it was just because his body was so tired it just shut down and he "slept". He didn't call it sleep though, he called it passing out. He never dreamed anymore just nightmares every few weeks. Luckily he awoke before anyone else so no one knew.

Why he couldn't sleep was a mystery to him. He thought he would feel accomplished after he killed his brother, he did but it was for a little while. He felt more numb than anything else for some reason. He was alone and his goal was completed, Itachi was finally being shit on by worms exactly like he deserved but he felt...empty. It finally dawned on him that he was the last Uchiha and if he was killed, his clan would be finished. The Sharingan, all the fire jutsus, all he knew; they would just disappear.

The Uchihas would become a Konoha legend, filled with murder after murder. His old allies would gather their children around a campfire and tell stories about a once great clan. They would start with Madara Uchiha's face-off with one of the Hokages, Itachi's slaughter of the entire clan, except Sasuke, a few centuries later, and finish with the last Uchiha rotting in a forest somewhere and being stabbed repeatedly by the people that once considered him a friend. Then they would shake their heads and mutter to the children, "He had so much potential, he was the top of his class...I wonder what went wrong".

Sasuke's hands were stained with blood, all of his body was stained with the blood of others. Everything about him spelled blood. Blood red Sharingan, blood covered sword, bloody hands, blood stained clothes...blood...**everywhere**. Blood on Karin's eyes and hair, blood on Suigetsu's lips, blood on Jugo's mind...blood wanted to suffocate him. Blood followed him everywhere, blood and sweat.

Tears never even dared to cross his path because just like his soul, his tear ducts were empty. Maybe he had cried too much when he was younger, maybe the Sharingan had somehow done away with them, he didn't know. But he hadn't cried since the night after his parents died, he mourned them a whole lot longer but he didn't cry. Crying never solved anything, crying didn't bring people back...it just made the pain worse.

Movement among the trees below alerted him to another presence, one he had been keeping an eye on since she moved away from camp. He jumped down a few branches and could see a figure looking for him. "Go to camp Karin", he whispered to her and her movements froze.

"Why aren't you asleep yet? How am I suppose to ravish your sexy body if you're awake?". He wanted to wring her neck and make her understand that he couldn't sleep. He wanted to sleep, his body craved sleep, but it just wouldn't come. His mind wouldn't rest and she wasn't making it any better.

"I'm not in the mood for you right now, go back to camp". He hated it when she wouldn't listen to him, stupid woman. "Now Karin", his voice caused her to jump and rush back to camp, leaving him to his thoughts. There was something wrong with that girl but he could never pinpoint her disease. He was exactly like the women he was used to: stupid, loose, annoying, and unstable. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

He heard footsteps on the ground and growled to himself, jumping down swiftly and landing behind the person. The darkness made it near to impossible to tell the hair color, but he wasn't looking at her. He could just tell it was a woman...Karin. "I thought I told you to go back to camp Karin", his voice stopped her.

"I'm not Karin", she spun around to show him her illuminating blue eyes. That new girl...her name was Sky or something. "What are you doing up?", she questioned, leaning against a tree and sitting on the ground.

He looked down at her and glared," None of your business". Moonlight bounced off his face and the dark circles under his eyes were visible. _Poor Sasuke, he looks so tired...what has he been doing all these years?_

"Can't sleep?", she asked, she motioned for him to take a seat next to her. He stood for a moment before almost dropped to his knees and leaning against the tree like her, pulling his knees up to his chest. "You know...",she started but was cut off by the infamous Uchiha glare.

"No talking", he ordered, dropping his head onto his knees. Sora looked over at him and smiled, resisting the urge to run her fingers through his bluish hair.

_I've always wanted to tell you this Sasuke and I guess now's the best time since we're together again. Remember that night ten years ago when I caught you leaving Konoha and I told you loved you? And then you said thank you before knocking me out. No offence but...that was not the nicest way to say goodbye...I hurt like crazy getting up the next morning. But anyway...I used to think you said thank you because you meant 'thank you for loving me' or something ultra romantic like that. But that wasn't who you were and that theory was soon destroyed. Then I thought you meant 'thank you for being my friend', 'thank you for making sure I was never lonely', and even 'thank you for caring' but you would never say something like that. So now, right now at this very moment, I think I finally know what you mean. 'Thank you for never giving up on me', 'thank you for never thinking badly of me' and 'thank you for just being there without being asked to be' .Well...you know what Sasuke? Your welcome._

"Goodnight Sasuke", she whispered to him, laying down on the soft grass. He never answered her back but she didn't expect him to, some things never change.

* * *

The worst thing about falling asleep that night to Sakura was waking up on the hard ground. She winced and stretched like a cat , looking around. Sasuke was out cold next to her, breathing easily. He was no longer up against the tree and was almost in a fetal position on the ground, his lips slightly parted. She didn't want to wake him but that wish was tarnished when a certain crazy looking woman popped out of nowhere like a fricken weed. 

"Sasuke", her singsong voice echoing throughout the forest," Wake up!". His eyebrows furrowed slightly and a frown appeared on his tragically beautiful face, he was distressed.

"Are you stupid?", Sora hissed, voice dripping venom. God, she couldn't remember a time when another woman made her so angry. "Can't you see he's asleep?".

Karin ignored her and walked toward Sasuke's figure with the intent of waking him up. How could someone be so dense? Sasuke had bags under his eyes and she was just going to wake him up? Sakura wished for super human strength at the moment so she could punch Karin miles away from him.

The man they were talking about suddenly sat up and looked around him, training his dark eyes on Karin. "Sasuke! You're awake!", she jumped on him and hugged him, but he seemed partly dazed. He reminded Sora of the time he was at the hospital when he was thirteen and she hugged him, he had the same expression on his face. He looked confused and lost, like an animal shipped far from home and taking in new surroundings.

"Get off me Karin", he muttered to her, pushing away gently. He told her to go back to camp and she silently left as if feeling his bad mood.

"Did you sleep well?", Sora asked him curiously.

He stood up off the ground and turned back to look at her over his shoulder. He always seemed to do that to her when they were younger. He was always looking over his shoulder at her because she was always lagging behind. During her first Chunin Exam with Team 7 in the Forest of Death she remembered when the cursed seal took effect on him, turning him slightly evil. He demanded that she tell him who bruised her face up the way it was and proceeded to almost kill the Sound Ninja. Sasuke stopped only when she latched herself onto his back, making the curse seal recede. His body felt perfect against hers and she thought it was a sign of good things to come. It wasn't and it broke her, her first love ended in her first heartbreak. "You care too much", he told her evenly walking toward camp," I don't like people who care too much".

_I know, I've always known yet I never seem to get it right. You've never liked me, it's not like I didn't know before. _She watched him walk away with the same grace he somehow retained over the years, the kind of grace a person was born with and could never be learned. _Sasuke...if...if you would have stayed with me like I asked...you would never be as sad as you look. You would never have look like you haven't slept for years, you wouldn't look so tired. You would have been loved by me forever...but you left anyway. You threw me...you threw __**us **__away, like it didn't even matter how much the village wanted you back. And here you are...ten years after leaving...eight years since I last saw you at Orochimaru's old base...and you look dead. What would have happened if you stayed with me that night? I don't know and I guess...it's foolish for me to wonder what if when you're no longer the man I once loved..._


	8. Chapter 8

When Midori and Sora arrived back in camp the next morning, Team Snake was eating breakfast...or something that seemed like breakfast. It was all either water or bread that they had to eat. How did they not dry up like sticks when that was all they ate?

"Are we going to start moving soon?" asked Sora's companion. Suigetsu turned to him," Probably, can't stay in the same place too long. What's his face is an S-Class missing ninja, seems like everyone wants his hide".

_No! Really? I mean he only abandoned his village, evaded their attempts at bringing him back, killed a Sanin, freed some of Orochimaru's pet projects, and killed his Akatsuki brother. Pshhh, that's nothing! _

_**Swwwwwwwt, pttt.**_

A kunai with an explosive tag suddenly stabbed the tree next to Sasuke, he moved a second before it exploded. The tag and the type of kunai were extremely familiar to Sora and Midori, a little too familiar for their tastes. _Oh no...please...not her...anyone but her...and them._

It was a special white kunai that could be manipulated by chakra, whether in the air or not, and attacked on its own, with the correct hand sign, when it sensed motion from an opponent. Not only were the kunais the stuff of legends but the person handling them was just as famous.

Only one person in the Hidden Leaf Village could have such a weapon, the Weapon Mistress herself. She called them _Shinju Me_ or Pearl Eyes and much speculation had aroused over the years over that name. For instance, her teammate and undercover boyfriend (well...not that undercover...Almost everyone knew but pretended they didn't because they were very private people and taking about their relationship in public was not safe) also had pearl eyes and it seemed like the kunais were named in honor of him.

_Awww, How sweet,_ people would say to her and she would just give them this look. The kind a stalking jaguar would give her prey before pouncing, the kind of look that said I-swear-to-all-the-stars-above-you-say-something-like-that-one-more-time-they-will-be-your-final-words.

Even Neji denied when asked about it and said they were named Pearl Eyes because they "saw" all the motion around them, just like eyes with the Byakugan would.

O...kay, lets go with that.

"Sora! Midori! Give us that scroll you possess". The voice made Sora shiver, Neji Hyuuga had a very scary voice during battle. No...he had a scary voice period. She hoped he would remember what Tsunade said and not try to kill her or Naruto.

"Hn, it's them", Sasuke walked forward, practically gliding on his feet, "I thought you would be dead by now Hyuuga".

Team Gai was in the tree in front of the campsite, perched on its branches like birds awaiting flight. Tenten was dressed in her classic Chinese shirt and her maroon colored pants, eight pearl kunais between all the fingers on her two hands. _Aw man_, thought Midori bitterly, _she's serious about this!_

Neji was to her left with his Byakugan activated, glaring down at Sasuke with distain. You could tell he was restraining himself from whipping that ass by the way his jaw was clenched. _Must resist urge to...kill the bastard where he stands. Must...resist... _

Lee was there also, looking less than happy. He looked around the campsite before saying, "Okay Sasuke, where is my beautiful Sakura?".

Sora could of heard her heartbeat in her ears by that time and tried desperately to keep it under control.

Where the hellll did that come from?

What was going on in Lee's head exactly?

Naruto tried not to let his surprise show and slyly looked over at Sakura, who stared at Lee with shock. _Snap out of it,_ he mentally told her, _don't let your emotions play over your face like that._

Tenten and Neji looked over to Lee, exasperated and confused. "Lee!", she reprimanded, "Now's not the time".

"But I must know", he said, looking over to Sasuke, "He could of kidnapped her and taken her for his own dark desires! She could be 'reviving the Uchiha Clan' by now! I will not let my blossom be tainted by him!". _Where does he come up with this stuff?, _Midori shoke his head sadly, _Poor,poor Lee._

An unsettling silence could be heard throughout the campsite, everyone was confused.

"Who the hell is this Sakura?", asked Karin tugging on Sasuke's sleave, "An ex-girlfriend or something? A stalker maybe?". _Ummm...not exactly...well...I guess you could say that..._

Sasuke turned his gaze on her," I do not remember that name".

That stung more than Sora was willing to think about, it stung like the many tears she used to hold back when he was gone. She missed him, she would of killed for him, she would of given everything up just to be with him and he claimed to not remember her name. Was she really that replaceable? A familiar hurt etched its way into her heart and she was helpless against it. It was like a scar opening itself after many years, tearing away all the effort it took to sew it together in the first place.

"Enough of this", said Neji snarling, "Give us back the scroll you stole!".

"Such a waste of time", Sora murmured pulling her hands together for a hand signs, "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu". It seemed as though the clouds suddenly dropped from the sky and surrounded the sight, nothing could be seen but white fog. Sora concentrated her efforts on clouding Tenten and Lee's vision since the Byakugan could see through anything really. She peered behind her and was not surprised when she discovered she was alone, Team Snake disappeared from the fight.

Someone shouted a fire jutsu and a rapid oxygen consuming stream of fire was released, headed straight for Team Gai. "Midori", she called clearing the fog around her a little. He was still expelling fire from his mouth in short bursts, aiming a Lee who kept deflecting them. "No time for that", she latched onto his arm," Time to get out of here".

"Ninja Art: Weapon Possession Jutsu", Tenten's kunai's flew at them, moving at different speeds and directions. Midori and Sora countered with their own kunais, knocking all the white ones to the ground. They rose from the ground again and floated in the air, poised for attack. "Give us the scroll", said Tenten, dangerously, "Don't make me kill you".

From that moment on, Sora knew she never wanted to be on the receiving end of Tenten's attacks ever again. Despite her childlike face, she took no mercy in attacking her opponents and that was just when she was fighting alone. Once Neji got in the picture, it was an invitation to die to try to take them on. He was very protective of his woman though he'd rather die honorably than admit it to anyone but her.

"What do we do now?", Sora looked at the kunais with unease as she spoke.

Midori looked all around his body before answering, "What do you think a Smokescreen Jutsu will do added to the fog?".

"Blind someone why?", the kunais were slowly coming closer and Sora took a moment to look at Tenten. She had her hands away from her body, her fingers spread wide as she controlled each kunai. Her hands slowly glided over air so the kunais could imitate her.

"Ninja Art: Smokescreen Jutsu", Midori spoke quickly and before anyone knew or heard him, a glob of smoke spread throughout the region. The two jumped quickly through the trees to escape the Konoha ninjas.

"You know Neji can still see us right?", asked Sora, soaring through the trees and carefully looked over her shoulder. Team Gai saw through their escape jutsu and was giving them chase, Tenten's kunais hovering near them.

"Stop running cowards!", shouted Lee," Fight us with the honor of a youthful ninja!".

"How do we loose them?", Sora asked, they jumped and landed on the other side of the river. Midori fished into his backpack and pulled out the scroll, throwing it back to Neji.

"What are you doing?", she asked him but he put a hand over her mouth and disappeared, making them reappear again miles from the Snake campsite. "Midori!", she said to him, "You gave them the-".The green eyed man pulled out the scroll and waved with back and forth with a teasing smile on his face. "What exactly did you give them?", he put the scroll back securely into his bag.

He motioned her closer, "My spare ramen". A huge laugh escaped her lips at the moment, that answer was clearly Naruto. He joined her but then stopped when he heard the sound of rustling from above. _I wonder who it could be..._

Team Snake dropped to the ground, Karin almost landed on Sora, and looked at the other two ninjas.

"So you really stole something from Konoha huh?", Suigetsu's ocean blue eyes looked from Sora to Midori. _**Noooo **__we were just lying the whole time to get close enough to yo-...never mind..._

"Yea", Midori took the scroll out and threw it to Sasuke who caught it with ease. "There are some pretty interesting fire jutsus in there, a little too advanced for me plus you need the Sharingan for half of them anyway. Leave it to me to Sora to pick up the one scroll I couldn't use", he smirked at her.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, "It's not my fault I picked the biggest scroll just because I thought it was valuable".

Between their talking, Sasuke had opened the scroll and was in the process of looking it over.

"What the hell?", Karin pointed to the first jutsu, "It must have like...eighty hand signs but they're all either Mi, Tora or Tatsu". It was the ultimate Uchiha fire jutsu, one without Uchiha blood could never do. It was called the Supreme Firestorm Jutsu that could blanket an acre of land in a blaze in a matter of seconds. It required a large amount of chakra expelled from the mouth, like a person trying to play an instrument by breathing from their diaphragm. By what the purpose of the jutsu was, it was obvious if could kill a person if they attempted it the wrong way. A fiery death for an Uchiha, maybe Mikoto was a psychic after all.

Next to the jutsu on the scroll was a sign that said it was a prototype jutsu that had only been tested twice before. Both times were by the notorious Madara Uchiha, interesting.

"Eh, all this talk of fire is boring. Hey Sora, do you know what I can do?", that was said by the one and only blue guy in the group.

She stopped talking with Midori and looked at him," No...what?".

His body suddenly dropped like water being poured out of a jug very fast. To Sora it looked like he melted (even his sword), melted and then turned into water. Where he once stood was a puddle of clear water, a large amount of chakra was radiating from it.

"Did you just...?",the blue eyed woman asked Midori who was visually gaping.

"Yea, yea I did", _and it's freaking the hell outta me! _The water rippled easily in the soft breeze and continued to ripple though there was no breeze. The water in the puddle shot up in the air, forming a smiling Shark boy. _Wooow...he's...made of water...and he carries water around in bottles on his clothes..._

He had one of the most creepiest smiles ever because of his sharp pointed teeth, making it look like he wanted to tear some body apart and lap up their blood. "Pretty nice trick huh?", he smiled at the duo.

Sora tried to smile, "Well...it can be useful in battle so...it is a pretty nice trick".

"More like a stupid trick", Karin sat on a tree stump next to where Sasuke stood, "Ooo he turned into water!!! How fascinating!!!".

Suigetsu glared, narrowing his icy blue eyes at her, "I don't even know why the fuck Sasuke still keeps you around considering he hasn't slept with you yet and never will".

The red haired woman peered over her glasses at him, blushing heavily, "You don't know what you're talking about, Sasuke loves me for me! I don't need to sleep him...though I'll never say no to you, Sasuke". The man they were speaking about was engrossed in the scroll he held, dark eyes moving from hand sign to hand sign as he memorized the technique. "Right Sasuke?", she batted her eyelashes at him although he wasn't looking.

He was known to have eyes on the back of his head like a Hyuuga, though he would scoff and insult that family if compared to them. "Quit fooling around", he rolled the scroll back up and glared at all of them, including Sora and Midori. They met his own with sapphire and emerald glares that could make any man shift uncomfortably for any amount of time. But Sasuke Uchiha wasn't just any man and he was immune to glares.

"Time to set up a new camp", he motioned to Sora and Midori with the scroll, "You two go find a suitable place". And just like that started the new Team Snake with Sasuke, Suigetsu, Jugo, Naruto and Sakura. It was like Team 7 with a slightly twist, a very psychopathic slightly twist. It could get better right?_**Right? **_

_Well...let's evaluate them shall we?_

_Two very good liars...One who might still be in love with their target... Another who has something inside of him that could bring destruction to the lands…_

_A man who can turn himself into water..._

_A woman with an obsession..._

_The last of a once great clan..._

_And a man who looks normal...acts normal...but...there's something __**not **__normal about him..._

_A team based on lies, deception, secrets and hate..._

_So no..._

_It could __**not **__get any better..._


	9. Chapter 9

A week passed by without incident and Sora and Midori assimilated easily in the group.

Then, on the eighth day of the new Team Snake, it happened.

The day started innocently enough with the five of them huddled around the camp fire while cooking...something meaty and chewy. Sora didn't really know what kind of animal it was, just that it wasn't like anything she ever had before. She vaguely wondered if she was eating a human being, Shark boy was a carnivore after all.

Midori took the piece of meat Suigetsu gave him without hesitation and bit into it when he found four pairs of eyes on him. He chewed it and swallowed without emotion, it left a less than pleasant taste in his mouth. He smiled at Shark boy, _God that was terrible. _

They cleaned up after themselves and just lounged around the area, talking occasionally to one another. Sasuke had gone away from the group for a while, probably to sleep somewhere in the shade of a huge branch. It was obvious that he still wasn't sleeping, the dark circles under his eyes darkened a bit.

Suigetsu and Karin went to the river to perform their morning rituals which consisted of swimming in water and bathing in separate parts of the riverbed. But how can Shark boy swim if he's practically water? Does he become water and just lounge around?

Midori said he was going to take the first watch over the camp since he was so restless, flashing a bored look to Sora before leaving. If any Akatsuki were in the area, he would know before anyone and attack with all the power he had.

Jugo, he rarely spoke since the first day, lay out in the sun, taking in its warmth. He seemed to be meditating instead of sleeping.

Completely bored out of her mind, Sora took to sharpening one kunai against the other for the sake of keeping her brain cells active. She wasn't paying much attention, apperantly, and accidentally scratched herself with one of the kunais. _Damn it, what kind of ninja am I anyway?_ Blood sprang out from the wound on the length of her left thumb, dripping down her hand. "Oww", she stood and walked toward her pack that was in the sun by Jugo, droplets of blood following her footsteps.

Between her cutting herself and walking over to him, Jugo awoke to find blood surrounding him. Thinking it was a dream, he reached out to touch the blood cloaked grass and was startled when it was still wet. _Bl-blood...real...wet...blood. Where is it coming from?_ He sat up and turned in the direction the blood was going, eyes locking on the figure hunched over her pack. He could see, and smell, the blood wasting itself by dripping on the ground.

Somehow, he managed to get behind her without her knowing and grabbed the offending hand that awoke him from his daydream. He was like a walking, breathing shadow, she didn't even hear him coming. Sora was surprised to say the least and a little afraid, Jugo was looking at her with the weirdest expression on her face. It was familiar to her, her brain tried to remember a time when she had ever seen that look.

He tightened his hold on her and narrowed his eyes, saying just one word," Blood...".

_Uh huh..._,"Yes I know I'm bleeding, can you please let go now?". He was a very burly man compared to her at the moment, she couldn't just Taijutsu flip him over her shoulder. He was solid muscle all over _and_ she didn't know any Taijutsu flip. _Where is Lee when you need him?_

"Blood...",he said again, tighting his hold on her hand once more "I want...blood". He lifted her hand easily to his lips and sort off kissed her thumb, which caused his lips to be tainted with her blood.

Now, she was completely scared shitless and tried to take her hand away from him. "Let go Jugo...please", he didn't listen to her and bit her cut, causing more blood to overflow.

What the hell was wrong with that guy?

Just when she thought she finally found the "normal" one in the group, he turned out to be a complete physco! Heh, who was she kidding. There was no "normal" one on her new team, damn her luck.

"Blood...you taste so good...give me blood", he knocked her legs right from under her and pinned her to the forest ground, her thumb in his mouth. "Must kill", he took her thumb out of his mouth and looked at it, he had sucked all the blood out already.

Sora didn't know what was wrong with her. She was a great ninja, why wasn't she attacking him? Instead of aiding her like it usually did the adrenaline in her veins was slowing her down to the point where it couldn't move. Too many things were going on in her head for her to make any sense of it.

_This is bullshit! Why.can't.I.move._ It was just like her Team 7 days, so she did the only thing she used to do back then. Taking a deep breath, she called out, "Midori!".

_**Naruto!**_

"Shut up", Jugo put his hand over her mouth, "Must kill before friend gets back, must kill...". He took out a kunai, _where the hell did that come from?, _and lightly traced it on the back of her hand, forming a thin line of blood. He licked it while looking up at her, challenging her with his feral eyes.

She finally realized where she had seen the expression on his face before. When Gaara let himself be controlled by the Shukaku during her first Chunin Exams, he had the same look on his face as Jugo did now. He had the Predator's Eyes, a term used to describe whenever a wild animal was about to attack. Before wild cats even make their strength known to their prey, they stare with those bottomless, intimidating eyes. Those eyes are the last thing some animals see.

The sound of someone landing on the ground next to Sakura made her look up and suddenly the weight of Jugo was lifted off her.

"No...",he whined and tried to get out of the person's grasp like a man possessed," Blood...need...blood. Must kill Sora...must kill Sora!".

The person turned Jugo to face him and activated his Sharingan, slowly hypnotizing the other man. "Sleep Jugo, sleep", the three tomoe on the Sharingan turned like a wheel slowly and gently. Jugo stared into the bloody eyes for a moment before snapping his eyes shut and dropping to the ground like dead weight.

Sasuke looked at Sora and hauled her onto her feet roughly, causing her to stumble and almost fall against him.

Midori took that moment to show up with leaves covering his long hair and very out of breath. "Sora...I got here as soon...as I could", he took a large breath," What happened?". His eyes darted from Sora's bloody hand to Sasuke and back to her blood hand, frowning and rushed to him. "What the fuck did you do to her?", he would of punched Sasuke's lights out if Sora hadn't taken that moment to intervene.

"No Midori, I'm okay", she put a hand on his chest to push him away, and "I just...cut myself that's all".

He stepped back a little and out of his eyes he saw hair sticking out in every direction, Jugo was spayed out on the floor unceremoniously. "Does he always sleep like that?", he referred to the way his body looked as if he was passed out, like he wasn't even breathing at the moment.

"Bandage yourself before he awakens", Sasuke's voice carried over to her as he walked away, he seemed to always be walking away from her. He jumped into the trees and headed in the direction Suigetsu and Karin were in.

Once no trace of him was left Midori spoke again, "Tell me what really happened Sora". She sighed before reluctantly telling him the entire story, starting from the moment Jugo grabbed her.

By the end of the story, Midori was so pissed he marched right over to where Jugo lay and kicked him in the face. "What the fuck is up with everyone? I swear if he was awake I'd...", he trailed off when Sora suddenly struck him on the shoulder.

"Shut up, it wasn't his fault. There's something mentally wrong with him. I don't think he meant to hurt me.".

"Are you stupid? This guy could of killed you if Sasuke...didn't come to...save you".

_Again and again and again...Hell, it didn't even end with our old team, he's still saving me. _

They were silent for a moment until they heard a groan from the heap at their feet and rustling of the grass under him.

Midori grabbed her arm and jumped to the nearest tree, dragging his friend along with him. She almost fell off the branch before he still her again, looking over at her with concern. "Sakura, what's gotten into you today?".

She shrugged and accepted the bandage he took out from his pocket," I'm having an off day".

Midori smiled, "Yea no kidding, you've lost a lot of blood take it easy today alright?".

They stayed in the branch in silence for the rest of the evening, not coming down until past twilight when Team Snake gathered around the camp fire once more.

Jugo didn't meet the eyes of anyone that evening and was the first to call it a night. He looked down cast and disappointed, the imprint of a boot was on his face. Midori tried not to look so proud of that.

Suigetsu and Karin got into an argument about how old she really was ["I'm twenty five, you idiot!", "Fucking liar, why do you have so many wrinkles then? You're pushing thirty, sweetheart, just admit it!", "I'm gonna kill you Suigetsu!!!" While Sasuke just ate and left like he always did. But before he could get very far away, Sora called out to him," Thanks for today, Sasuke".

He turned to her and seemed to stare to figure out her hidden intentions...even if she didn't have one. He then knodded slightly and sprinted away into the coming darkness. _How stupid is that woman any way, _he wondered once he sat himself in his tree, _why couldn't she push Jugo off herself, she doesn't look like a weakling. _

_Hn, why are all women I have come across all the same? And why does she remind me of someone? _

_The way she screamed for the guy...it seems so familiar. _

_Why do I feel like...someone used to scream for me like that before? Why...why can't I remember that? I remember something but I'm not sure what it is or who it is. I dream about it sometimes...it's a girl and she's crying...for me...she doesn't want me to leave...she's making ridiculous promises she can't keep. She tells me she loves me...that I would be happy with her...but who is she? Her name...what's her name?...why can't I remember her name? _

He closed his eyes in concentration, a scowl on his face. _Dammit, what is her name? _

_I remember it was something pure..._

_Something nice...too nice..._

_Something sweet...like sugar...or a flower..._

_A flower...her name...I remember...it meant cherry blossom..._

_Her name is..._"**Sakura**". _That Leaf ninja with the Hyuuga said her name before...he said I kidnapped her and she was reviving my clan..._

_What did he mean by that? _

_She said she loved me...she wanted me to stay in Konoha...she wanted me to be with her...like her..._

_She wanted me to be __**weak**_

_She was too soft..._

_She wanted **love**...where I wanted...__**revenge**_

_We were too different and that's why I forgot her..._

_She wasn't important because...because she was so weak..._

_But then...why do I feel like I did something to her after that..._

_I said something to her...but what was it..._

_Why can't I remember..._

* * *

A few feet down on the ground, red eyes narrowed in annoyance. _Who is this Sakura I keep hearing about? And what does she have to do with Sasuke? __**

* * *

If you only knew Karin, if you only knew...you'd wish you didn't. **_


	10. Chapter 10

Over the next week, Sora and Midori noticed something that they never noticed before.

A black bird, on the lowest possible branch of the tallest tree in the campsite, kept looking at them and never moved from its spot. It acted like a normal bird to an extent, cocking its head to the side and whistling every few moments. But it never moved from its spot, its feet were rooted in the branch.

After much speculation, they decided to take closer inspection. Midori threw a piece of meat at it but the small bird just ducked in time and the meat whizzed by its small head. It then looked at them and squawked, begging them to come closer. They approached it slowly, but it didn't move and it just looked at them. It seemed to take in their appearance and squawked, opening its smooth inky wings.

I-inky wings?

"It's one of Sai's birds", Midori smiled as some ink dropped from the bird and onto the forest floor discreetly, "Seems like we got a message". He took out an empty scroll from his pack and placed it near the bird that jumped on it and immediately turned to writing right before their eyes:

_**Hello **_

_**The Hokage asked me to provide you with a non-detectable information source**_

_**Dickless, Ugly...meet Bird-thing**_

_**or Black Bird**_

_**Or anything else you want to call him**_

_**But the news it: Ms. Beautiful awoke from her looooong nap, Lazy Face was very happy**_

_**The nurses almost walked in on them "sexing" or whatever it's called**_

_**Cloud Eyes and Bear Head reported that their mission was a "success" and handed Dickless' ramen over**_

_**You're so stupid...it had your name on it **_

_**"Naruto's Favorite Ramen...Yum"**_

_**Idiot**_

_**Fang Boy, Blush, and Bug are preparing for their mission**_

_**Fang Boy wants to know who you two are so badly **_

_**His dog-thing looked like it wanted to eat Bird-thing when he saw it**_

_**Blush just wanted to know when Naruto would be back from his mission**_

_**She is in love with you it would seem**_

_**Bug was as silent as always **_

_**I will keep in touch**_

_**Don't die**_

"Oops", Midori smiled, "I have to stop putting my name on my food. It's an old habit I can't seem to break".

Sora shook her head and read over the part about Ino waking up. "Finally, I was beginning to think she would never come to".

"Yea, remember the time Shikamaru popped Sai in the face for calling her Ms. Beautiful in front of him?"

Sakura smirked at the memory; it was four years ago at the Hokage's office one day.

_

* * *

"The jutsu says you have to concentrate chakra into your finger tips..." Sakura was caught off by loud voice. _

_"Fingertips? Forehead that says fingernails! Can't you read?" the blonde laughed wholeheartedly. Her best friend was not amused and frowned slightly. _

_"And then you wonder why the jutsus don't come out right Ino-pig! Oink oink!" The Yamanaka didn't even seem insulted, she laughed harder and fell off her chair. By that time Sakura was worried, Ino had never been so happy before. "What's gotten into you?" she asked helping her friend up from the floor. _

_Ino wiped her flushed cheeks free of their laughing tears and said, "Shikamaru", with a dreamy sigh. _

_When Sakura didn't respond for a while she turned to her and found her friend with a disgusted expression on her face, "I don't want to know, I really don't want to know". _

_Understanding what she was saying about a little bit caused Ino to hmph, "You're such a pervert, Sakura. I'm just happy he's coming back from his mission today". _

_"Isn't Sai on that mission with him?" _

_"Yea, you should have seen him the night before the mission. I took a shower and went to our room and he was already there but I knew he wasn't sleeping. Well when he sleeps his ears get...okay it's complicated but I just knew he wasn't sleeping. I asked him what he thought of the mission and he said,' If that little fucker messes with me, I'm gonna kill him'. He doesn't like Sai because of that Ms. Beautiful crap he's always saying to me, he doesn't know Sai does that to form bonds with people. He means well...". _

_The doors to Tsunade's office opened with a snap and in waltzed Shikamaru, frowning, and Sai, smiling, as they walked with each other. Noticing they weren't alone, Sai turned to Ino and said," Hello Ms. Beautiful, would you like to come over to my house tonight?". _

_If anyone really knew Sai, they would know he was insecure about his communication abilities and sometimes said things that were taken the wrong way. He probably didn't mean to sound like he was flirting with the Nara's one and only, maybe he just wanted to talk jutsus with her over some ramen._

_Shikamaru scowled darkly and glanced at Sai, his teeth clenched together. He looked back at the man and then, faster than anyone could see, slugged him right across the face and caused him to fall to the floor. The scene was rather familiar to when Sakura punched Sai because he insulted Sasuke. _

_"Shikamaru?", Ino asked, her past excitement was forgotten in worry, "What the fuck was that for?". _

_All her boyfriend said was, "The fuck face had been pissing me off since the mission started. And then he tries to flirt with you...man I'm just sorry I didn't hit him sooner". _

_Turned on by his hero antics, Ino jumped on him and they started making out, forgetting that Sakura and Sai were still there. It would have been a very hot moment if a certain Uzumaki hadn't come in and screamed, "Sakura! Shikamaru's eating her face! Do something! Ino's going to be FACELESS!!!". He then turned his attention to Sai and said, "Oi, what the fuck happened to you?". His answer was a groan, fuck Shikamaru was heavy handed!, while Sakura explained everything that happened. The electric blonde was silent for a moment before breaking into a fit of laughter that shoke the room as he pointed and kept laughing at Sai. He had it coming anyway..._

* * *

"He loves her a lot", muttered Sakura looking at the scroll. Bird-thing suddenly sprang up from the writing, just like Suigetsu did from the puddle of water a few days ago. Not a drop of ink was left on the scroll and the little bird hopped onto the closest branch.

"Bird-thing", the little bird turned to Midori, "Sai really needs to learn how to name things".

"I don't know", Sora rolled up the scroll, "Bird-thing is kind of cute, cutest name Sai has ever come up with anyway".

The bird squawked them a goodbye before taking to the trees, their only connection to Konoha and it was smaller than a kunai. "Hey! What are you two doing over there?", called Karin to them, her hands on her hips.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes and picked up his huge sword. On closer view, it looked like it could cut someone in half. "Leave them alone, why do you have to be such a nag?".

It seemed as if Jugo never spoke anymore, just a polite good morning every time he awoke. His eyes followed anyone who spoke though, but he never communicated. One more than one occasion Sora had heard him speaking to Suigetsu at night fall, once she was Midori had said their goodnights. It seemed as if Jugo didn't want to talk around them anymore, he was too ashamed of losing control.

After a week with Team Snake, Sakura had learned a total of three things: one, Orochimaru seriously fucked those people up. Two, Suigetsu and Karin argued like a married couple that was too lazy to get a divorce and three, they did nothing all day except lounge around and glare at each other.

"I'm not a nag! Am I a nag Sasuke?". Sora idly wondered if that was how she used to be whenever Sasuke was around. Did she really bother him with mindless garbage all the time?

Did she force him into conversations he didn't want to have with people he didn't like about topics he didn't care about?

The dark haired man was reading the scroll they had "stolen" from Konoha and was trying to memorize the seals again. _Tatsu Mi Tatsu Tora Mi Tora Tatsu Mi Tatsu Tora Mi Tora Tatsu Mi Tatsu Tora Mi Tora Tatsu Mi Tatsu Tora Mi Tora Tatsu Mi Tatsu Tora..._

"Sasuke!", Karin's voice somehow penetrated through his mind and he scowled at her. His smoldering eyes threatened to consume her, it was astounding how something so deadly could be so beautiful at the same time.

"What the fuck do you want?". He saw her flinch and her mouth drop open, as if she wasn't used to his attitude already.

"I...I was just asking...if you thought I was a nag". Sora's eyes lowered under her bangs, it seemed as though she reliving a moment from her teenage years. She tries to ask a question, he bites back, she shrinks down to five times her normal size and vows to never bother him again only to ask him something a few days later.

"Hn", his eyes flickered over to Suigetsu, "It doesn't matter". The shark toothed man smirked at Sasuke before glancing at Karin who stared at him with her mouth still open.

"It...doesn't matter? So you do think I'm a nag!", Sora imagined her stomping her foot on the ground like a brat having a temper tantrum.

"What I think is not important, you are part of my team and I respect you for that".

Midori shifted uncomfortably next to her and moved to sit next to the Team, careful to keep his eyes away from Sasuke. _You respect Karin for being on your team...and she's a nag...Did you ever respect us Sasuke? _

_Did you ever think of Sakura and me as family, like brothers and a sister? _

_Did you ever think of Kakashi-sensei as the other brother you wish you had? _

_If you did...why did you leave us? I still don't understand...How could Karin, Jugo and Suigetsu...ever compare to Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and me? _

_We tried to be your family...the family you lost. To be honest, you were part of the family I never had. You still are...sort off...I mean...if you still want to be. _

_You used Team Snake so they could help you kill your brother and let them stick around with you after that. You never used us...did you? How could they...who are bonded to you by selfish needs and us...who were bonded by fate...damn I sound like Neji but it makes sense. We needed each other, our team work was amazing. _

_Sakura loved you so much, she cried for you as if her soul was being __**ripped **__out of her, but you left anyway. _

_**Why...Why would you give up love...for hate? **_

* * *

Later, in the dark of night under the soft glow of the full moon, figure sat alone in a barren field. The grass under him was burnt and crunched every time he moved about to stand or walk. The Firestorm jutsu worked well, a little too well. After performing and reciting the eighty-four seals, he had transformed a quiet, peaceful part of the forest into a raging inferno.

The fire had burned for a few moments until Suigetsu and the blue eyed girl put it out with their jutsus. He had wakened them and told them to put out the fire which they did without care. They were dazed and half asleep so they didn't ask questions and left soon after putting out the blaze.

Though it claimed to be a prototype it seemed to work better and faster than regular fire jutsus. It was the kind of jutsu that scorched an enemy up-close and burned the skin off their bones while they are skill alive, like a bomb that killed all the life around it.

Another difference from regular fire jutsus was that it pained the user's insides to perform it. Usually fire techniques like the Phoenix Flower jutsu and Dragon Flame jutsu don't hurt the user as powerful as they sound. The worse the ninja could feel was probably a prickly sensation in the chest and breathlessness, nothing more. But with the Firestorm jutsu, Sasuke had felt as if his insides were, literally, on fire. It started in the pit of his stomach when he was reciting the seals and by the time he reached number fifty, it had made its way to his heart. He felt lightheaded and dizzy but didn't stop with the seals, despite the quickness of his heart.

The fire jutsu itself felt as if he was throwing up something instead of controlling it, he gagged a few moments after being released from the jutsu. No wonder the jutsu was so dangerous, a man could go mad feeling such intense pain.

Under the veil of silence, Sasuke put a hand over his heart and listened to its beat. His organs felt raw and worn-down and it hurt every time he took a breath in. He coughed and gagged a minute before restraining himself, pain made people stronger after all. His ancestor, Madara Uchiha, had tried the jutsu twice in his lifetime. How strong could he be to try something that caused so much pain twice? Was he even human?

But no...Sasuke had to try again. He needed to perfect the jutsu or it would be useless to keep the scroll. He needed to become stronger, to live up to the Uchiha name. He would try the jutsu later when the pain retreated a little bit.

He coughed and spit something up that glittered in the moonlight.

It was blood...

Maybe he would get to die of his own flames after all...

It wouldn't be so bad…

Then maybe all his pain would go away...

He wouldn't hurt anymore...


	11. Chapter 11

It had to happen eventually, it was what the mission was all about in the first place. To protect Sasuke Uchiha from the Akatsuki so Konoha and the neighboring villages wouldn't have to worry about the threat of a powerful ninja. Itachi and Orochimaru in the Akatsuki were bad enough in their time, but this was the man that killed both of them. He killed a Sanin and the man who made ANBU captain at thirteen years old. Only one very powerful and vengeful ninja could kill his blood and the Sage who made him as strong as he was. Konoha and every ninja that knew him would be devastated if he ever made the decision. His skills and jutsus were unimaginable to any ordinary ninja.

If he ever lived long enough, younger ninjas would wonder at his scarlet eye technique, the only one of its kind. They would marvel and try to make their eyes the blood red color of his Sharingan, only to be told it was kekkai genkai and only he had it. If he ever had a family, they would be the only ones with the doujutsu and would either treated like stars, adoring fans, or scum, jealous fans. But then he would revive the Uchiha and after a few years, if he had many children, the clan would probably be as big as it always was.

Sasuke himself wasn't sure he had the patience to deal with screaming brats for the rest of his life. But in order for his line to continue he needed to reproduce. There was something in the middle of him and a baby...it was called a woman. Whoever didn't fear him hated his guts so there was the break in the chain. No woman meant no heirs and no more Uchihas if the damn Konoha ninjas ever caught up to him.

But that's besides the point. The other villages didn't worry about his personal issues and whatnot, all they cared about is who's side he was on, where he was, and what he could do.

* * *

Certain things just weren't in the mission overview.

Like waking up to the smiling face of Sharkman as known as Kisame of the Akatsuki.

On regular days at regular hours Kisame was a very scary dude. Even when he smiled you knew he was up to something sinister or petty, verrry petty. Besides his fishiness and less than friendly attitude, he was powerful. His clones were strong and his Water Prison thing was amazing. But he radiated pure evil and had the eyes to prove it.

Sora had to restrain herself from screaming and hiding under a rock because he startled her, she didn't expect the Akatsuki to visit so early into the mission. Without looking away from his eyes, she slapped Midori on the shoulder repeatedly even after he awoke. They slept on the ground last night because they needed a break from the branches of the trees.

"Oww,owww what the fuck Sora, what happ...",his eyes met Kisame's. His green eyes widened as he took in the figure that was Kisame, who hadn't changed over the years at all. His black cloak with red clouds blew around him silently and his sword seemed more intimidating than usual. His light blue skin was pale under the sunlight but that was the only thing that changed.

Suigetsu didn't sense a change in the air at all and smiled up at Sharkman, "Kisame, what brings you here?".

"Business". A wave of enlightenment hit Sakura at the moment and she looked between the two. _Blue skin, shark teeth, big swords...am I missing something? Suigetsu's sword was Zabuza's who was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist just like Kisame...but Sharkboy wasn't one of the seven. But he looks like he could be one of the seven so somehow they know each other. And they have no problem with each other, they talk like old friends. Could Kisame be Suigetsu's old sensei? _

Karin and Jugo weren't at the campsite for some reason but Sasuke was. He looked up at Kisame through hooded eyes and he was not surprised to see him.

"Who are they?", Kisame motioned toward Sora and Midori. It was amazing how familiar they seemed with each other. It was hard to imagine any Akatsuki member talking civilly with anyone except each other.

"New additions to the team, their names are Sora and Midori". Kisame's beady little eyes looked closely at Sora for a moment and before anyone could blink he brought his cleaver-like sword just millimeters away from where she rested her hand. A boom could be heard through the forest. The speed of his slash forced some of her hair into her face, blinding her in a fury of black. He waited a few moments before lifting his sword from the ground and smirking at her," I like this one, she doesn't flinch".

A cold prickling sensation traveled down her spine when he looked at her and even more so when he spoke.

What did he want?

Sharkman turned away from her and to Sasuke, "You sure you don't want to join Akatsuki?".

The fuck??

He was asking Sasuke about joining his group???

At the mission briefing, the Hokage made it sound like Sasuke was being forced to join...it didn't seem like that.

"I am sure Kisame, I do not follow in my late brother's footsteps".

The blue skinned man let out a harsh laugh, "Too late for that. Well if you ever change your mind, I'll come and find you". He winked at Sora, who cringed, before disappearing with a hand seal and smoke.

"He asked him to join?", Sora whispered to Midori, "What's that all about?".

"I don't know", Midori glanced at Sasuke who was watching them with narrowed black eyes, "But there is something fishy going on here. Heh heh get it, fishy?".

She tried to smile at him but frowned instead, what exactly was going on? "Does he usually asked Sasuke to join?", she called to Suigetsu who knodded his head.

"Yea, he's been trying to get Sasuke to leave Snake for years. He's always been rejected but I figured by now he'd stop being so lenient. He should of started kicking ass months ago". _The Akatsuki are planning something, that is easy to tell. How many of them are left anyway? I think it's just the blue haired woman, the leader, the masked guy, Kisame, and the one who looks like a Venus fly trap. Sasori, Itachi, Hiden and the guy with the five hearts are all dead. But why would they be taking so long in recruiting Sasuke? Wait...who else are they trying to recruit? Are they still trying to get the Nine Tailed Fox Demon inside Naruto? Are they still even looking for Naruto? _

"I really don't like this", Midori whispered to her, "There's something we're not seeing here, something we keep missing. This wouldn't be an S-Class mission for nothing. There has to be some danger involved that we haven't realized yet".

"But what is it then?", she turned over to face him, leaning forward so that her forehead was almost on his shoulder, "Kisame has just been asking Sasuke if he wanted to join. If this has been happening for years and Sasuke still hasn't thought about joining, what could change his mind now?".

"All Kisame would have to say was that their goal was world domination and if he joined them, Sasuke could have control of Konoha and become its Hokage. He'll want to kill all his former allies first, probably starting with me if it ever comes to that".

"What are you two whispering about?", Suigetsu looked at them as Karin and Jugo returned, "Are you a couple of something?".

"Yea", Karin agreed, sitting at Sasuke's feet like a dog," Every time I turn around they're talking about something among themselves".

_Fuck we need a cover!, _Sora turned to look at them over her shoulder. "As a matter of fact...we are". She felt Midori tense next to her, she tried to calm him down with a hand on his shoulder. "We're a two man team but we're also boyfriend and girlfriend".

The camp was still before Karin jumped into the air, a smile on her face," I knew it! Now there is no excuse for me to be jealous about Sora wanting Sasuke!". Umm...she had a habit of speaking her thoughts out loud whenever she felt excited about something. A very disturbing fact Sora learned the hard way.

Suigetsu grimaced and threw a glance Karin's way," I would honestly prefer Sora all over Sasuke instead of you".

Very in character, Midori slid a hand on Sora's shoulders, "Hey!".

Sharkboy smirked," No offence".

"But she doesn't want him so there!", geez could she sound any more like a teenage girl having a bitch fit?

Sasuke glanced at her for a moment before his eyes found Sora's and held onto them. _It feels like he's seeing right through me and it staring down Sakura! Why won't his eyes just leave me alone. _She broke his gaze and curled up against Midori and he wrapped his arms around her. There was nothing romantic about the gesture though it looked like two sweethearts enjoying each other under the sun. She hoped they could keep the charade up before they were found out.

"Think about it", Midori whispered to her," When Deidara attacked Gaara a few years ago, he did it without warning. The threat of Akatsuki was always there but no one expected he would go after Gaara, the Kazekage. They wanted him and every Jinchuuriki they could get their hands on for world domination. There were nine of them back then: Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, Zetsu, Konan, Pein, Hidan, and Kakuzu. There are only four of them left now. Kisame and Itachi were partners for a long time. There's no reason Kisame should be that nice to the guy who killed his partner. They're probably planning an ambush attack, we have to be ready".

"Anyway", Suigetsu took out his huge sword from its place, "Let's go hunting".

"For what?", asked Karin in disgust scrunching her nose, "There is no game".

His smirk grew bigger, "Let's hunt for ninjas".

_...What? _"You're a cannibal?", Midori's body shook slightly. So that's what that big ass sword was for...cutting people's legs off!

Karin laughed, "He's not really human so he can't be considered a cannibal. He's more of a fish...".

Suigetsu slammed his sword into the ground, mimicking Kisame's earlier move. His eyes turned from the color of warm water to stiff ice that threatened to freeze Kain. "So help me bitch, if you call me a fish one more time...".

"Enough", Sasuke stood up and headed in the direction of the river, "You bicker like children. Don't kill each other before I get back". In the midst of his absence, the camp fell into an awkward silence. They didn't know each other very well to start non- childish conversations with each other.

"So...",Midori started, "Has Kisame ever attacked Sasuke before?". It seemed like the wrong thing to say because, for once, Karin was quiet and still. Suigetsu sat down on the ground and sighed profoundly before hiding his sword away. They didn't want to talk about it.

"Yes", Jugo spoke but didn't look at anyone. He was entranced by the blade of grass between his fingers as the light bounced off it. "Before Sasuke killed his brother, he and Kisame never saw eye to eye. When Itachi was killed and there was a void in the Akatsuki, Kisame started to appear frequently. They fought over how strong Itachi really was and as a result Sasuke has a scar running down his chest, over his heart". It had scared Karin and Suigetsu half to death seeing Sasuke bleeding out of chest. He was out cold for hours until Karin had kidnapped a medical nin and forced her to perform emergency surgery on him.

All Midori could think was, _Damn this Jugo guy is really full of either shit or surprises. He ain't fucking normal that's for sure. _

All Sora could think was, _He has a scar running over his heart too? Guess we're not so different after all..._

* * *

In the river away from the campsite, Sasuke looked at his reflection in the water. Kisame's visit made him think about his late brother and all the things he had done in his lifetime. And raised a few questions...

Would he really join the Akatsuki some day just like Itachi did?

Would his Sharingan be perpetually used like his was?

Would he...someday...in his quest for power...kill his entire family?

_No _he couldn't. He wouldn't. He wasn't Itachi, he was Sasuke, and whatever happened he would not follow his brother's path. The Akatsuki wasn't for him, his goal wasn't to rule the world or something stereotypical like that. His goals were to kill his brother and revive his clan. Nothing more and nothing less, he didn't want to be the emperor ninja or something like that. He just wanted to be content for once. Was that so much to ask?


	12. Chapter 12

Sora was awakened in the middle of the night by Midori's sweat drenched face. The night was unusually dark but the soft light that emitted from him helped her see him clearly.

But why was light coming from him?

And why was it orange?

He was frantic as he called her name over and over again, almost loosing his balance. "What's the matter?",she questioned him, still in a deep haze. He cringed and put a hand on his shirt, lifting it to show his stomach. All she could see was his regular tan skin that glistened with his sweat. There seemed to be nothing wrong with him. "What? I don't see anything wrong",but in her mind she felt as if she was missing something. There was something _not there_ but she just couldn't remember.

"The seal...watch",she looked closely when she realized that his seal was missing.The seal he'd had since he was born was no where to be seen, the seal that was suppose to suppress the fox demon's powers. A minute later the seal appeared faintly before sinking back into his skin, leaving no mark. Midori coughed harshly, gripping his stomach.

"Is it the Kyuubi?",she whispered as he suddenly dropped to his knees and doubled over, his forehead on the branch under them. He growled out loud and clutched his stomach tighter. From where she was laying down, she could see his fingers growing longer and his nails growing sharper. The glow around him intensified as he struggled to keep everything under control. It was eerily reminiscent of the time when they were fifteen and at the Bridge of Heaven and Earth. That had been the only time she had seen the true power Naruto could have with four tails and the pain that it caused him.

"He's...fighting the jutsu, he wants...to be released". He looked up at her with his hurting green gaze and winced. After he spoke his eyes flashed crimson for a second and the whiskers on his old face could be seen. The Kyuubi was starting to take over.

Sora held his cheek and brought his face closer to hers,"You need to calm down, look at your hands". She held them up to his face so he could see his own claws that were long enough to slash the bark off trees. His eyes ignored his hands and held Sora's gaze, his eyes the color of blood. "If Sasuke or anyone catches you like this our cover will be blown, just relax". He jumped down and, less than gracefully, gagged before throwing up his dinner.

Sora landed next to him and patted him on his back as he started to cough. He had full fledged claws by that time that left small cuts on her arms everytime he gripped them to keep his balance. He looked at her through his now raggety, sweaty hair that seemed to grow longer. The pain seemed to stop for a moment and his face took on the familair angry Jinchuuriki scowl.

"I'm going to kill you Sasuke!",he shouted, it was his normal Naruto voice. As refreshing as it was to hear his voice again, at the moment, it was not welcomed. _Shhhhh! What the fuck are you doing? Sasuke doesn't sleep and we're so close to him, he could hear you!_ With a performed handseal, they were a couple of miles away from Team Snake so they wouldn't see, hear, or feel anything. She gently picked him up slammed him into the closest tree, looking around while he tried to get out of her grip. He growled and snarled at her and for moment she thought one of his tails was going to pop out. The orange light turned out to be chakra that oozed out of him lit up the spaces around him as he continued to thrash.

"Naruto",she hissed, "Control yourself, you almost gave us away". He roared and pushed her away from him a little too hard. Sora landed on her back side and that was when she noticed something else. The roots in his hair were...yellow. _Yellow... _His hair looked more like fire then, yellow highlights that spread through his red hair gave it a orange tint. The Kyuubi was trying to reverse the jutsu...and succeeding.

If she didn't stop him in time, he would be Naruto again in less than a few hours and the mission would be over. _Can't let that happen...too many things are riding on this mission...We just started...it can't end now. _Sora thought back to all of the times he had been controlled by the Kyuubi and what they had done. Kakashi-sensei had said that he used a seal and smacked it on Naruto's forhead, making the Kyuubi dormant again.

But where was that fucking seal?

Sensei almost always thought ahead and he might of thrown a seal in her pack or something. He was smart and knew Naruto's power as well as Jiraiya did when they were younger. It was a shame that the Sanin died while fighting Pein, though he was a pervert, he was the pride of Konoha. But she couldn't just leave him in the forest alone while the Kyuubi was driving him crazy. She looked up at him, he was on all fours then, clutching the grass around him.

Tsunade had told her once about a temporary seal she could try on Naruto if he ever got out of hand and they were alone together. It only worked for a few hours but that was enough time to search both their backpacks. Thank goodness she remembered the handseals and that one foreign substance she needed. _"You will need a drop of his blood to perform the Temporary Seal Jutsu..."_ Slowly, Sora crawled over to him and saw that he was holding his face, making small cuts on his cheeks. Heat surrounded him and he was alive with the pulse of chakra that healed his cuts immediatly. Drops of blood floated up from his body into the chakra.

"Naruto", she whispered to him, he glared at her,"Please just calm down, don't let the Kyuubi take over you". He growled and narrowed his gaze at her, roaring loudly before clutching his face again. _Forgive me for this..._ Sora opened her kunai holder at her thigh and slowly took the weapon out, careful not to let him see. With speed even he didn't see she cut his hand and disappeared from his view. She heard him scream and wiped the pad of all her fingers with his blood and performed a seal. "_Ushi, U, Ne, Tatsu, Inu, Tori...Temporary Sealing Jutsu!". _She held the last seal and waited. For a moment, there was no movement and no sound in the forest. Then Naruto growled, the orange chakra fading into the air around him, gripping the grass with now human fingers with tightly closed eyes. He continued to growl and moan until he looked like Midori again. Sora jumped down, she saw him shiver, and knelt down beside him.

Concentrating all her chakra into her hands and upper body, she hoisted him over her shoulder and transported them back to the branch overlooking Team Snake's camp. He was sweating and shifted in his sleep but atleast is blonde roots, claws and whiskers were gone. She found an emergency seal at the bottom of her pack and placed it on his forehead, he winced before moaning. He slept fitfully through the remaining night and developed a fever a little before dawn, causing Sora to stay up all night with him. But he was worth the trouble because he was Naruto and it pained her watching him whimper and try to escape the fire burning inside of him.

By the time Team Snake awoke, she was starting to doze off. Dozing off on a branch wasn't the smartest idea but she was ninja and not many ninjas died from falling off trees. Atleast none that she knew. While they ate their breakfast of bread, water, and bloody meat, she fell back off the branch half asleep. All her chakra subconciously rushed to her feet and hooked unto the bottom of the branch, she was now upside down. She slept easily like that, unaware of the glances sent in her direction.

"Is she really asleep?",asked Karin walking over to her and poking her with a finger. Nothing, the girl looked dead except for her breathing. "I've never seen anyone sleep upside for a while, she's like bat", _probably is a bat too the ugly hag._

"How long do you think she'll stay like that?",asked Suigetsu before he bit into his piece of meat. It was so juicy and moist with sweet blood...mmmm blood. He licked some of it off his lips and looked over to Sora.

"'Till she dies I hope, she's only caused us trouble since she came to our team".

Suigetsu frowned,"Oh yea, like what?".

"Remember when those Leaf ninja came and we had to escape them?",she asked and didn't wait for an answer,"Well I lost-".

She never got to finish because Sora started to stir and stretched before opening her eyes. She was eye-to-eye with Karin and looked at her in confusion,"Uhh...Karin, why are you upside down?". It was a stupid question but hey she was drowzy and tired.

"I'm not upside down idiot you are".

The blue eyed girl frowned and crossed her arms,"Nooo I'm pretty sure you're upside do-", she stopped. Her hair was almost trailing the ground, she was upside down. _Huh...I really was upside down. _

She looked at her feet and, though she inwardly screamed at her position,just frowned,"So I am upside down".

"Hey!",Karin cried crossing her arms,"Why didn't you believe me when I told you?".

Sora looked to Sasuke and Jugo who hadn't said a word, they were staring into thin air and occasionally letting their eyes roam the others in the group. Sasuke's dark ones met Sora's for a moment before he too looked away and muttered something to Jugo who knodded his head absentmindly. "I don't believe anything you say". She flipped down from her position on the tree before jumping up to the branch once more to check up on Midori. He was still asleep but breathing heavily and sweat was streaming down the side of his face.

"Where's your friend?",Sora glanced at Suigetsu.

"He's sick so I let him sleep in today".

"Sick?", echoed Karin like a demented parrot,"What happened? Did he catch whatever disease you have?".

Many people have seen catfights in their lifetimes. The occasional female struggle for dominance, the oh-hell-no-fall-back-bitch type of fight or the ever popular what-did-you-just-say? fight but few have seen a ninja girl fight. It's not pretty, it's not safe and its definately the stuff nightmares are made of.

Nightmares and fantasies but let's not get into that.

Before any one could even sigh, Sora pounced on Karin and had her pinned to the ground. The red haired woman was shocked to say the least, her glasses leapt off her face as if they were alive. Karin struggled to get Sora off but she was no match for the younger girl who seemed to weigh a ton at the moment.

"Bitch", Sakura said through clenched teeth,her eyes like the blue lightning of the Chidori,"You are fucking my last nerve, don't push me or I'll...".

A fist wove itself in her hair and pulled, causing her to stand up off of Karin. The person gripped her hair firmly and didn't let go even when the other woman sprinted away from the site. Her head was pulled back so Sora was eye level with her namesake, the cloud filled sky. She didn't see who was holding her so tightly but if the dark hair and glistening chest were any clue, it was Sasuke.

He said to her,"It would be wise to control your temper". He was so close she could hear his chest vibrate and his fingers flex in her hair. It felt so erotic for him to be doing that to her because anyone could tell Sasuke really was the hair pulling type. It hurt a little but after the initial pain all Sora could feel was that Sasuke was too close for her brain to be functioning properly. _He's so close...if I step back a little, I can hear his heart beating. _He tugged on her hair a little to gain her attention,"Do you understand?".

She didn't know why and she didn't know how but there was tension between them at that moment. Something so thick it weighed heavly against her heart and brain, as if the gravity on the planet suddenly tripled. _He's touching me..._

"S-sora?",a voice whispered to her. Sasuke untangled his hand from her hair as she looked in the direction Midori was. He wasn't wearing a shirt but a blanket covered his seal so no one saw it.

Karin's eyes widened under her glasses,"Wow, you're so tanned? Is it natural?". Midori cocked his head in her direction and frowned in confusion. The fever numbed his senses a bit so Karin looked like a flurry of red, white and black to him. Not that he saw Sora any better but her colors were more familair. Something white, black, and purple was standing close behind her, so close that their colors blended for a moment.

"Sora?",he repeated again and watched as one of the blurs came toward him.

"You don't look so good, go back to sleep". She couldn't forget the feeling of Sasuke's hand in her hair. He had a hard grip, that she knew, but when it was in her hair...it didn't matter. His hands were capable of being gentle, she was sure of it. That was the closest she'd ever been to him since he left the village and it made her nervous. She never really noticed his hands before, it was either his eyes, his lips, his hair, or his body as a whole. She took a chance and glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. He was staring at a spot on the ground, deep in thought, his body completely still. His eyes flickered to her when she moved to dab Midori's forhead and continued to stare.

_I have to ignore him, I can't get close to him. Bad things happen when ninjas let their emotions get in the way of their missions. I have to protect him, nothing else. We were never meant to be...so why can't I except that? Why am I fighting a battle that was lost a long time ago? _

_Why does my love for him have to be so complicated? _

_And unconditional..._


	13. Chapter 13

The life of a ninja was filled with unexpected complications, unexpected allies, and unexpected enemies. For example, during the first mission to retrieve Sasuke from the Sound ninjas and when everything was falling apart, the Sand ninjas came out of nowhere.

Gaara fighting alongside Rock Lee?

Shikamaru being protected by Temari?

Kankuro beating someone's ass for Kiba?

As if that wasn't astounding enough, the Sand siblings were the ones that helped Sound attack the Hidden Leaf Village one time. Another unexpected was when Sasuke left the village. Okay...for the elders, it wasn't that unexpected. They probably thought that current Uchiha generation (which was just Itachi and Sasuke) was seriously fucked in the head and needed to get their priorities straight. But for the younger ninjas, they were surprised. If they didn't know about his cursed seal, they were even more surprised. Sasuke wasn't one to hang around at the Ichiraku Ramen shop with the other ninjas and joke around but whenever he _was _there Sakura and Naruto were at his side. He seemed so content with just sitting there and watching their bickering, a soft smirk on his face. Some said it was out of character for him to run away and that it tainted the Uchiha name.

Unexpected things kept the life of a ninja dangerous, mysterious and interesting. In a world where irony seemed like just another member of three man squads, the unexpected was unavoidable.

The phrase "expect the unexpected" never had such a truer meaning.

* * *

"Let's go to a village, we need supplies", Karin said one day at dawn. It seemed like her favorite part of the day to start bossing people around. She was met with the drowsy gaze of Suigetsu who rolled his eyes at her before rolling over on the ground. She saw this and walked over to him, kicking him right in the side.

It was an interesting sight to anyone who was awake, unfortunately only Sora and Midori awoke to her screeching voice. Juugo slept like a rock and no one, nooo ooone, wanted to wake him up. Whatever dream he was having was interesting by the way he smiled in his sleep. _Probably dreaming about sucking someone's blood like a leech, fucking bastard,_ Midori looked back over to Suigetsu as Sora stretched and laid flat on her stomach with her head rested on her arms. Her hair felt like a mess and her eyes burned in the brightness of the sun.

Karin's foot got stuck in Suigetsu's side and she quickly tried to pull it out. He growled at her and held her ankle with one hand before pulling her loose.

"Ew", she said wiping her wet toes on the grass closest to her. Droplets of water sprang up from the blue man's side and he glared at her in annoyance.

"Shit Karin, that fucking hurt!" he gave her one last glance before rolling over again. Upset that no one was paying attention to her, she hadn't looked up to the other ninjas yet, she gave this half-banshee, half-wild boar squeal that caused Jugo to jump awake.

She looked over to him and smiled sheepishly," Well good morning Jugo, did you sleep well?" Still in a daze from his dream he looked around to where the squeal could have originated from only to have his eyes go back to Karin.

Suigetsu ran a hand across his face and growled," Why couldn't she have drowned somewhere..."

Karin marched over to him," What was that?" They stared at each other like a water god and a demon of fire. It was amazing how, not only were their differences mentally, but also physically as well. He had blue eyes, she had red eyes. He had blue hair, she had red hair. His skin was tinted blue, her skin was pale. It was as if the gods were telling them they weren't meant to get along. Suigetsu had a calm, laid back attitude like still, pond water. He wasn't defensive when he didn't need to be and, in times of peace, he never raised his voice. That didn't mean that he never got angry or blood thirsty, he whacked ninjas with his sword for food, but it wasn't all he thought of. Karin had a bossy, overwhelming attitude like boiling magma that wanted to destroy anything that got in her path. She was defensive all the time like she was protecting herself of something or someone. As far as Sora knew, Karin was never insecure or fell quiet if it didn't have to do with Sasuke. He was the only one that could shut her up and she would stay quiet. She wanted Sasuke and he didn't want her, in some way it felt like he left a trail of broken hearts everywhere he went.

Fashionably late as always, Sasuke strutted into camp while holding his sword in one of his hands. He aimlessly pointed it at the arguing pair," Wake up and let us go to the village already, stop your childish squabbling". He glanced at Jugo who was still dizzy with sleep," It was only a dream, snap out of it". He was the ringleader in the circus that was Team Snake and knew exactly what to say to have everyone under his control. His voice was laced with commands and hidden signals that quieted everyone.

Everyone gave him their undivided attention in fear of what he might do to them with his sword. Quick hands were to be feared. "You two, come down now", he said to Sora and Midori though he was still facing forward.

"Who are you talking to...", Karin asked but closed her mouth when she saw the two new additions jump down," How long have you been there?".

They ignored her and looked to Sasuke who addressed the team, "Let's go, perform a Transformation Jutsu". Blue and green eyes clashed with each other, trying not to panic.

"Can we do _another _Transformation Jutsu?", Midori whispered to her.

"I don't think so".

With a few hand signs Team Snake, transformed and their new bodies were the complete opposites of what they were. Sasuke now had cropped blonde hair and friendly hazel eyes that twinkled in the sunlight.

He almost had Orochimaru's eyes.

He wore a green shirt with nice fitting black pants, his sword and its holder in his hands.

_WoOow...he looks good no matter what he looks like..._

Karin had long, even, purple hair like Anko's and blue eyes like how Suigetsu normally had. She took her glasses off and pocketed them in her new purple and blue ninja sweat suit. Suigetsu and Jugo looked good and not weird, which was a change, both had the nicest long hair and dark eyes. Jugo was a blonde, like a member of the Yamanaka clan with Hinata's shy, feminine looks.

"Why aren't you transforming?", asked Suigetsu fingering his new black hair with distaste. He already missed his normal, water colored hair and it hadn't even been an hour yet. Why were transformations always so uncomfortable?

"Uh...we want to stay here".

Newly colored eyes looked at them in confusion while the eyes with mixed coloring glared at them. "Why?", he asked, his new voice was softer than his regular one and it made Karin smile slightly.

"We don't like crowds", said Midori, trying not to crack under Sasuke's eyes. He was the only person Naruto knew that could make his blood boil and make his blood run cold at the same friggin time. Just like the walking contradiction he was.

"Besides", Sora had a bigger problem making contact with his eyes, so she looked at him once before looking away," We're thieves and we wouldn't want to blow our cover just by going to some stupid village". That bad girl attitude was just the push Team Snake needed to believe her and they knodded, hesitantly, before making their way in the direction of the village.

Sasuke looked back once at them with narrowed, suspicious eyes. It was no secret that he still didn't trust them. "Do not betray us or you will regret it", he whispered to them before catching up to his group. His words always had a life of their own. They seemed to walk through the air and wrap themselves around them, repeating over and over.

_Do not betray us or you will regret it..._

_Do not betray us... _

_You will regret it..._

The air was tense moments after they left and an unnatural silence filtered through the forest. It should have been filled with the sound of insects, the occasional singing bird or even a squirrel but it was all quiet. Like nature was a television show with the mute on.

"I have a bad feeling about this", Sakura whispered to Midori who in turn knodded back to her. All was quiet still until the loud barking of a dog could be heard.

_Dog? There are no wild dogs around here. _

That was their only clue before a large white and brown animal launched itself at the red head. "Son of a-",he shouted out when the dog dropped and pinned him to the ground. It licked his face once before looking down at Midori and resumed licking again. His breath smelled like jerky and the paws that held him down smelled of hot grass.

"Ah ha caught ya!", yelled a voice. A man with two red tattoos on his face and furry brown hair seemed to drop out of the sky. He rolled in the air once before crouching right next to Midori's body, a frown on his face. "Akamaru, why aren't you attacking him?". He was expecting a harsher greeting from the dog that was normally vicious during missions.

The dog just kept licking Midori furiously as if nothing was going on.

Sora was frozen in shock at the sight of Kiba there. _What...the...hell? _She must of made a sound because his head turned to her and a wolfish smirk crossed his lips. _Holy...when did he get so sexy?_ His shoulders were broader, and from where he was on the ground, Sora could see the rippling muscles under his clothes. Did he always look like a bad ass? The kind a girl didn't take home to her mother because he was so damn rough and vulgar yet charming and dependable? Now that she thought about, he _did_ always look like a bad boy with a soft side. A cute little puppy on his head made him seem so caring and adorable. _ARGGGG STOP IT! Kiba was...is...one of my friends! Besides he doesn't even know who I am. _

"Kiba Inuzuka, you get his mutt off me right now!". Kiba's smirked dropped to another frown as he called Akamaru off the man. The dog obeyed even though he wasn't done saying hello to his buddy yet. He smelled weird...

"How do you know my name?", he asked standing over Naruto and grabbing his collar. Kiba was scary when he wanted to be. Those eyes and canine like teeth, especially when he growled, could make anyone wet themselves.

Midori glared right back," Get off me and maybe I'll tell you dogshit".

That caused Kiba's cat like eyes, which was weird considering he was practically a werewolf, to widen and he immediately let go of the red and black collar. There was only one person in the world that called him _that name he despised so much _and could get away with it. His frown became pronounced once he sniffed the air deeply surrounding the red headed man. It caused him to cough. No matter what form a person might take, their scent always remained the same. Kiba hadn't smelled the scent of ramen, rain water, and sweat for at least a year and it startled him.

Akamaru whined and nudged Sora's hand now that he was close enough to her, begging her to pet him. That drew Kiba's attention to her and he sniffed in her direction as well, getting a noseful of wild cherry blossoms and wet grass. He looked from Sora and Midori for a few minutes before he stepped back a bit. _What's going on here? _The site was filled with Akamaru's whine as he tried unsuccessfully to grab the woman's attention. Kiba opened his mouth and closed it again when nothing came out.

He finally gathered his thoughts, "Sakura? Naruto? What the hell are you doing here?".

_Oh fuck_


	14. Chapter 14

To say Sakura and Naruto were confused and panicking out of their minds was an understatement.

The one thing they had tried to protect, the one thing that could either sabotage the mission or make it easier was now out in the open. If Sasuke or anyone was in the area and heard what Kiba had said it was all over.

Sasuke would attack them for lying and betraying his trust, Suigetsu would chop them up into tiny, little ninja pieces and Jugo would eat them. Karin would cackle like a maniac with shouts of 'I told you so' as she rode with Sasuke into the sunset on a cloud of their anger and hate. The Akatsuki would recruit him and he would join just to spite them and his old home.

His brother's Akatsuki ring, the Vermilion Bird or _Suzaku, _would go on the ring finger of his right hand. He would paint his nails a deep purple to signify his alliance to the group. He would be Itachi's replacement and, most likely, kill Naruto to obtain the Magenkyou and become all powerful. Konoha would crumble and it would all be because Kiba said 'it' out loud.

_

* * *

How can he know..._

_How does he know..._

Kiba took their silence as signs of astonishment at his awesome smelling powers and smirked before saying, "Hinata, Shino come down". The wind around them whirled as two figures dropped from above just like Kiba did, each falling into his or her own fighting stance. Midori had to glance away from the group for a moment, Hinata looked extra cute to him all of a sudden. She wore the exact same thing she wore when she was fifteen, a long coat .

How could she breathe in that thing?

No wonder she was always fainting, but she was no longer the stuttering little girl. Some how she trained her eyes to glare exactly like her older cousin so now she was wolf in sheep's clothing. Just get her angry and you'll see the moment the wolf breaks through the seems that bind "wool" together.

Shino still wore that hooded sweater with the high collar but his sunglasses were much bigger. What was he hiding under there? A beard? Or maybe he was just too sexy for his fellow ninja and hid himself because of it. Forget Operation Unmask Kakashi, they needed Operation Strip Shino! Then and only then will they be able to know what he hides under layers of clothes.

"Naruto", Shino said, his head turning to the redhead, "There's something different about you". The sarcasm from his words made a small smile settle itself on Midori's features and Hinata glanced at him.

Was that really Naruto? It didn't look like him...her Naruto had golden hair the color of afternoon sunshine while this Naruto had hair the color of a red sunset. Her Naruto had eyes the color of a cool ocean while this Naruto had eyes the color of spring leaves. Could he be...her Naruto? The girl standing next to him wasn't familiar to her but Kiba called her "Sakura" so there was something weird going on with that.

"It's a Transformation Jutsu", said Naruto, motioning to Sakura, "We're on a mission to protect Sasuke from the Akatsuki".

Kiba crossed his arms," So you're saying the hot girl that suddenly popped out of nowhere in Konoha was really...Sakura?".

The dark haired girl smirked at him, "Yea, it was me".

He wolf whistled and then winked at her, "Damn, this is a really good look for you. I'm gonna need to give your new body a test run one of these da-".

"Are you insinuating that you gave my old body a test run Kiba?!".

"Maybe".

"You little-".

"Can you really prove that you're really Naruto and Sakura? We don't really know if you're telling the truth".

Kiba looked insulted, "Hey, my nose is never wrong!".

"Oh yea what about that one time with...",Naruto started.

The brown haired turned to him and growled," That was one time, one time! And dammnit it's not my fault that Neji and Hinata have almost the same scent!".

Now that was a funny story to be told at a later time. All the key points were: Naruto, Kiba, rumor of Hinata's sexy bathing suit, sneaking into the Hyuuga compound's bathing area, saw someone naked that wasn't Hinata walk out to get a towel, and they were scarred for life. Neji was pretty mad too but strangely no one had anything to say about a certain brown haired woman that was also in the water with him. She was so flustered she hid underwater for a while until Neji came back with the towels.

That was awkward.

They never looked at Neji the same way again.

They didn't even want to look at Neji ever again.

And when Sakura and Ino found out, they couldn't stop laughing and were teased every time.

_"Hey Kiba, seen Neji lately?"._

_"Go ahead Naruto, get all up in there!". _

_"I didn't know you liked spying on naked men...explains so much"_

"Say something only those two would know", said Shino, lowering his face to look at them from over the rims of his glasses.

Naruto gave them a small knod, "Kiba has a tattoo on the back of his shoulder that means 'light after dark'". Team Kurenai's face's faltered for a moment, the details were too exact to be a lie. Only his sister and friends knew about the tattoo, his parents would give him hell if they knew. He got it right after Akamaru was injured while they were trying to retrieve Sasuke. It hurt him so much to see his trusted partner in so much pain and was so glad when he recovered. He sought out people who inked the ANBU members for his tattoo and after some deliberation they agreed. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would but it burn for days afterwards, the ink they used was permanent so it stung as if became a part of his skin.

Naruto's partner also knew something only she and her best friend figured out, "Shino used to have a crush on Ino". Shino...Ino...their names even rhymed!

The man in question winced as if he had been hit in a very tender place before a light blush covered what could be seen of his face.

"Aw really?", Kiba asked walking over to Shino and throwing an arm around his shoulder, "When was this?".

"A few years ago when Tsunade put both of us on a mission that lasted...".

"Oh! That was the mission that you came back with Ino asleep on your back right?", his friend interrupted with a knowing smirk.

Shino angled his head away, "Yea...and she was so cute too". Now he was sulking, something he had been doing with increasing rate since Naruto's return to the village when they were fifteen.

Kiba patted his friend roughly on the back," No worries Shino, there are always Hinata...and Sakura". And Moegi but it seemed like most men forgot about her because she still looked like a child.

"So you really are Sakura and Naruto. We had our guesses when we saw your ramen in the Hokage's office we just had to believe it a bit. You should of seen Neji's face, I laughed for hours after that. Lee took it hard though, to have Sakura right there in front of his face and so close to Sasuke and he couldn't do anything about it".

"But I'm not in any danger besides this is a mission we have to complete".

"How long is it?", Hinata spoke for the first time averting her eyes from Naruto slightly. Though he looked nothing like she remembered he was still the same Naruto, the one she had given her heart to when she was just twelve. The one who, no matter what he did or what he said, people believed in him because he gave them hope. As cliché as it sounded he made people believe in themselves by believing in them first.

"Two to five years", Naruto watched Kiba's eyes widen," We just started a few weeks ago and right now there is a small threat of the Akatsuki. Kisame came to visit the team a few days ago so we're keeping an eye on him".

"Wow", Kiba's arm dropped away from Shino, "You guys are gonna be gone for a long time".

Naruto smiled at him, "Aww Kiba, don't miss us too much".

Sakura looked around before eyeing the team in front of her. "You have to leave now, Team Snake is in the closest village and they could be back any second. One of them, the woman, can detect chakra signatures yards away".

"But I wanna see Sasuke", Kiba pouted, slamming his fist into his open hand," I gotta give him a present from Choji, Shikamaru, Neji and me and it's a long time overdue". _And it's gonna hurt like a bitch._

Though everyone could tell he was joking, it hit a little close to home since the whole Fire Country wanted to give Sasuke a "present". Akamaru started to whine softly and nudged his great big head against Kiba's side who frowned down at him.

He kneeled and petted his dog on the head," What's wrong Akamaru? What do you smell?". He himself took a sniff before his eyes practically sprang from his head," We have to leave now, Sasuke's group is coming back".

"How far away are they?", Shino wiped a hand against his glasses.

Kiba inhaled the air around them,". A couple of miles, far away so that the chic can't sense us but we have to leave now". They said their good byes quick and painless and were about to leave before Sakura "accidentally" pushed Naruto into Hinata. They were not going to see each other for years and they needed their own kind of goodbye. The special goodbye, the promise goodbye, that would cement their desire for each other. They needed the goodbye Sakura and Sasuke never had and probably would never get.

This caused Naruto to be lurched forward, he had very light feet, and bump into Hinata. It would also be cliché to say that they kissed each other so it doesn't need to be said. Naruto just wound up with his arms around her to steady himself and to keep her from falling. Her blush was so immense he felt it and a slowly moved away from her.

When he looked back, Kiba and Sakura were smirking at him while Shino was beaming from under his collar. They looked so proud of themselves.

"N-n-naruto?", Hinata mentally kicked herself. Great she was a stuttering idiot again! Just when she thought she had changed herself for the better!

"I'm...I'm really sorry Hinata...I didn't mean to-", she wanted him to just shut up! My god why was he always talking! _I want to knock him breathless, I want to make him, for once, speechless...but how? _Acting on impulses alone, _just hold your breath and do it Hinata,_ she roughly grabbed his collar and met her lips to his. She could tell he was surprised by the way he froze but slowly, with her coaxing, responded to her lips. Her lips were so soft and his were so rough, it just felt so good. Finally doing something they had been dreaming about but were too afraid or embarrassed.

The three people in front of him scratched their heads in confusion. "Man, why that fuck does Naruto always get the girl?", Kiba scowled. Though he got over Hinata years ago it still stung how someone like Naruto, who used to have eyes only for Sakura, could get a girl without even trying. Especially his sweet and innocent Hinata who kissed like a vixen.

Sakura looked so surprised she couldn't speak for a moment, "Whe...When did Hinata learn how to kiss?".

Shino sniffled and lowered his collar a bit, "Is it getting hot out here or is it just me?".

He was met by the jealous glares of Sakura and Kiba, "It's just you".

The couple was now wrapped in each other's body and Kiba had to stop them before they got interpersonal. He yanked Naruto by his hair away from his beauty, "Okay, gotta go. See ya later, let's go Hinata".

"Bye Narut-", she never got to finish as Kiba, Shino and she disappeared from the area. Naruto was left with his lips tingling and touched his lips, staring forlornly at the space Hinata once occupied. _Hinata..._

"Midori", Naruto didn't respond, "Midori!", he still didn't respond. Sora moved to his side and punched his arm gently, "You'll see her soon Midori, don't worry about it".

"I can't believe she...kissed me...", whispered glancing at his blue eyed best friend," It felt so much better than in my dreams".

Sora smiled," It will always feel better then in your dreams". _It's not the dreaming part that hurts, that's actually the best part. It feels me with so much hope and...and lies. Because I know that they'll probably never coming true...waking up is hard. It feels so real sometimes, like I can reach out and touch him because he's so close but then, when I'm half awake, I realize it's a dream. And it hurts...so much, so much that I want to just close my eyes and pretend that it's real...if only for a moment. _

"Did we interrupt something?", asked a voice with a cool hint of humor. Sora and Midori turned to see Suigetsu, Jugo, Sasuke and Karin in their regular forms. All of them had two bags in their hands full to the brim. It seemed as if they were much closer than they thought. Sasuke stood still in his spot and his eyes traced the grass beneath their feet. Something was off.

"Someone was here", he said gruffly, letting his eyes rise to meet blue ones," Who was it Karin?". His dark eyes challenged Sora's, he knew she was hiding something.

_Awww fuck, don't tell me she can detect signatures after they've left... _

Karin walked into the area before Midori that he motioned to and touched the grass at his feet. "Someone powerful and...they stink like...an animal".

"Suigetsu, what do you smell?", Sora crossed her arms. What was Sasuke getting at? Did he know who was there a moment ago?

The creature of water inhaled a great amount of air before breathing it out in a cough. "Uhh...it was an animal...some time of dog", he frowned at the words, "What would a dog be doing way out here?".

"It was the Inuzuka, wasn't it?", Sasuke asked dropping his bags and walking toward Sora. He looked like he wanted to strangle her. "What was that Konoha ninja doing here?". It was fascinating how he forgot who Sakura was but could easily remember Kiba and Neji when he wanted to. He and Kiba weren't even the best of friends, they couldn't stand each other. How could he forget the people who loved him but remember those who despised him?

Midori was quick to rescue their position," He was just like the rest of them. He wanted to find out where you were, what you were doing, and things like that. I didn't tell him anything so his sicked his dog on me. We fought them until the girl got injured and they decided to head back".

_Why is he so good at this?_

The camp was quiet for a moment until Suigetsu smiled a shady smile," Good enough for me, now let's eat. The harpy woke me up before I had a chance to!".

"Hey!".

* * *

The subject was dropped but then a few hours later, sitting by the campfire Karin looked across to Sasuke. Jugo and Suigetsu were asleep next to them while Sora and Midori whispered to each other in the branches.

"Sasuke", he glanced at her," They're lying. There were no signs of distress in the grass, the red head wasn't even injured".

"I know", he replied, the flames reflecting themselves in his eyes. "Konoha ninjas attack first and ask questions later and they stole a scroll from the Hokage which makes them criminals. They're hiding something".

Karin frowned, "But why would the Konoha ninjas not attack them?".

"They might be on the same side".

You know what's the worse thing about tangled webs? Loose threads that might, and sometimes do, cause everything to unravel.


	15. Chapter 15

Fire was one of the few elements, if not the only one, that was alive. In its own, beautiful way it breathed and thrived on the oxygen around it just like humans did. Fire was not easily contained or controlled so only a few select ninja were allowed to use it in a ninjutsu or any offensive/defensive attack. It was unpredictable and could be unfaithful to its wielder. Many ninja a time have succumbed to its malicious flames and not lived to tell their tale about the hell they lived through. The Uchihas were chosen to use fire because they were one of the first to use its powers to protect others as well as themselves. The Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Flower Jutsu, Fire Dragon Jutsu, and Fire Dragon Missile Jutsu were some of the first ways fire was incorporated into the lives of ninjas. After this, ninjas living in other parts of the land used elements in their jutsus as well. Each tried to overcome the weakness of its element. For every fire technique, there was a water one either exact or exactly different in nature.

Take the Fire Dragon and the Water Dragon as an example. The Fire Dragon, created in Konoha, was a faster and sleeker way to transport fire from one place to the next. It needed no source like water and earth jutsus do because fire comes from the heart, soul, and chakra of the user. Water ninjas who had seen the Fire Dragon probably panicked and worked to develop a counterpart for it: the Water Dragon. That way the Fire Dragon would no longer pose such a threat to those against it. It was only a matter of time before a lightning dragon was made to defeat the water one. In the ninja world, it was all about opposites to keep balance.

Everyone needed a cooling splash water to their inner fire. They just needed to realize that first.

_

* * *

Control chakra into my hand...Control chakra...Control..._A black glove slammed into the trunk of the closest tree and almost knocked it off its roots. The tree slanted at a dejected angle that caused some of the dead leaves to fall off. The force of green chakra that her hand emitted faded slowly when she saw the damage. Her new body made it easier to control chakra in one part of her body, just like Tsunade taught her. For the first time she tried in her new body, the chakra was pretty good. She flexed her fingers and winced, they were a little sore from lack of using her super human strength. 

Hearing the large boom, Karin came rushing over and stopped once she saw what Sora had done. "What...how..." she motioned to the fallen tree. She covered her mouth with a hand and looked at Sora's confused expression. What the hell was that girl anyway? "How did you do that?" she finally said and would soon regret she asked.

_Magic?_

"Like this", Sora replied with a smirk and gathered chakra and her left hand before punching the remainder of the tree out of the ground. The roots sprang up into the air like the legs of a spider and dirt came sputtering out. Her fingers didn't hurt that time around and were used to her pulsating chakra. _I wonder if I can heal now too... _

Karin shook her head to relieve herself of the shock," I don't care who you or your _boyfriend _are but I'm on to you and if you think you can hurt Sasuke, you're mistaken!".

_She doesn't even know what she's talking about...we're trying to save Sasuke. _"We don't want to hurt Sasuke so mind your own business".

That caused Karin to walk over to Sora and grab her by her hair...again. "Don't lie to me, I know you're working for either Konohagakure or Sunagakure so whatever you're planning just stop it!".

Sora whipped around grip Karin by her collar and said in a very eerie voice," Do you see the tree Karin? Do you want to become the tree? Do you want me to punch you so hard you snap in half? Do you? No...no you don't. Don't become the tree Karin". _You certainly have the huge, crusty roots for it._

Sora pushed her away, more gently than she wanted to, and went in search of Naruto. He and Sasuke had gone to the river to catch fish for dinner...or so they said. What she saw looked nothing like fishing. The river was deep yet clear and still held traces of Suigetsu's chakra. He must of swam in it that morning and left his pattern there, marking it as his territory.

The area around the river was clear except for the adjacent part which was covered by another larger and deeper forest.

Midori and Sasuke were standing on the river's surface with their weapons out, glaring at each other. Their lips moved as they said something to each other in low voices.

"Midori", she called once she was on the river bank, "What are you doing?". They ignored her and continued with their threats and staring contest. Getting aggravated, Sora took out two kunai from their places inside her boots and slowly walked on the water to them. "What the hell are you two doing?", Midori glanced at her before lowering his weapon.

Sasuke took the opportunity to lunge at him but was stopped when a kunai intercepted his sword. Sora had stealthily moved herself in front of Midori, she knew what Sasuke's next move was going to be, and blocked him. "What were you two arguing about?", she asked him once he too lowered his weapon and turned his back on them. He sheathed his sword and walked away slowly and tiredly.

"He thinks we're on the same side as the Konoha ninja. He tried to make me admit what our real motives were before you came".

Sora glanced at him over her shoulder," Karin did too, she caught me practicing hitting trees with Tsunade's technique".

"You learned how to perform it in your new body?".

"Yea, it's easier than I remember it", she walked toward the green bank," Soon I might be able to heal". Midori made a sound of disapproval from the back of his throat that made Sora look at him. "What? You don't want me to heal?".

"I think it's a bad idea. In her time, Tsunade was the one that proposed the idea of a medical ninja to every three man squad. Not many ninjas are healers around here if you don't count the Hokage, Kabuto or you. People already know that you healed Kankuro the time Sasori's poison invaded his system and created an antidote, it's a bad idea. Besides, few ninjas know how to train other ninjas to heal".

"Why are you so much smarter in this body than your old one?".

He just smiled at her, "I dunno but this is an important mission and every move counts. I guess I've finally gotten serious". _Not to mention if we slip up even once Sasuke will catch us…he wasn't number one in the class for nothing…bastard. _

"It's about time".

* * *

Sakura was a little worried about Sasuke's attitude so she stayed up that night to watch over him. She felt like a guardian angel of some sorts, the angel to some unfortunate soul.

Yea…right.

She was just trying to make herself feel better. Sasuke seemed more like an angel than she did sometimes. Seriously, he was pretty for a man. Of course he would smite you with his awesome avenging Uchiha powers if you ever said that him.

Under the cloak of branches, Sasuke was just leaning up against the trunk of trees, deep in thought. Sakura was atop the tree a few yards from his, watching from the leaves. She watched him stay in the same position, like a statue, for at least an hour before he stepped out into the moonlight. He inhaled and looked around before closing his eyes, his hands into a Tatsu hand seal. She could only imagine what kind of jutsu he was about to perform.

_"Tatsu, Mi ,Tatsu, Tora, Mi, Tora, Tatsu, Mi, Tatsu, Tora, Mi, Tora, Tatsu, Mi, Tatsu, Tora, Mi, Tora, Tatsu, Mi, Tatsu, Tora, Mi, Tora, Tatsu, Mi, Tatsu, Tora...", _his voice was gruff as he announced each seal. He sounded like one of the legendary ninjas that had hypnotizing voices when they performed a jutsu. Like Kakashi-sensei when he performed like Water Dragon jutsu. Sasuke continued to recite the seals for at least three straight minutes and by the time he finished his eyes were burning with the Sharingan.

_What kind of jutsu is this?,_ Sakura gasped in realization, _Was this one of the jutsus written in the scroll Naruto gave him? _

"Fire Style: Firestorm Jutsu", from Sasuke's mouth a fury of flames erupted and lit up the area. Sakura was in stiff shock before she realized that fire wouldn't stop pouring from his mouth and it almost covered the entire area. She jumped down from the tree and reappeared at his side when he dropped to his knees. The flames reflected themselves in her blue irises which were glazed over in surprise. Everything was aflame including the tree she was just in. She looked down at Sasuke when she heard him moan and clutch his forehead.

_What the hell am I gonna do, _she thought looking around, _How the fuck am I suppose to bring so much water over here? Did he not know fire plus dry bushes equaled lots and lots of fire? _The entire environment made it hard to think and even breathe. The heat that surrounded her doubled as the flames advanced on them, circling them as if it was alive. She shook Sasuke's shoulder, "Sasuke! Sasuke, snap out of it we have to get out of here". He just groaned and coughed into his clenched fist, dots of blood could have been seen. _Oh that's not good. _Sakura put her hands together in a hand seal and looked up to the sky, it was covered in smoke. "Water Style: Rain Shower Jutsu", it was a technique Kakashi-sensei taught her just in case anything went wrong and she needed water quickly. Thunder echoed above her, it gave her comfort, and cooled the air before rain descended. The raindrops hit hard and fast, extinguishing the flames that lapped at her legs.

Soon the once green grass was burnt and the trees were brittle and bare. Sakura panted before kneeling down to Sasuke's level and gently clearing his soaked hair away from his eyes. His eyes were closed and his lips were freckled with his own blood. "What the hell was that?", she whispered," Did you know I was there and were trying to kill me?". He stayed silent but his eyes opened, the Sharingan was still activated. He now looked even more tired than ever and just a little pained. "Answer me", she pleaded, staring at him. Around her, the rain was slowly coming to a stop and just fell in a soft drizzle. "Were you trying to kill yourself?", but he refused to answer any of her questions. He just looked down at the ground and occasionally coughed harshly.

_I don't believe him...the jutsu was so powerful...but it's not worth his health. _

Sakura stood to kneel in front of him and carefully guided his face so he could look at her. His bright eyes caught and held hers but he seemed to be looking right through her. "Turn off your Sharingan", she said carefully and almost sighed when he wrenched himself from her grip and stood up on shaky legs.

"Leave...me alone", he said through clenched teeth and limped away from her slowly.

"At least let me do something about your cough", when he didn't turn back, she had to gamble a bit," Do you really want to be the last Uchiha? You can die like this Sasuke...let me help you".

He stopped and his back stiffened, he turned to look over his shoulder at her with his electrifying eyes. "I do not need your help but if you would rather waste your time in preparing something for me, I cannot stop you".

That was probably the closest Sasuke had ever gotten to asking for someone's help. Sakura had to follow him because there were no herbs in the wasteland Sasuke created. He walked until he reached the edge of river he was at that day, far from their campsite. He coughed from time to time and once he did it so hard that he almost tripped over his own two feet.

Sakura had gathered the herbs that stopped bleeding, upset stomach, heart burn and other fatalities that seemed to plague Sasuke. She messed them all together on a smooth stone and added some water before handing it over to him. There was a displeased frown on his face when he smelled the mixture but had no choice but to ingest it all.

Sakura never realized it before but whenever she saw Sasuke's Sharingan in battle when she was younger, it was the most beautiful doujutsu of them all. But now that he wouldn't turn it off, or couldn't, it was a little unnerving. Those red eyes were what some people last saw before they were killed, the only thing that ever gave the Uchiha clan away whenever they fought. They gave him such an amazing aura out on the battle field. It was like he was saying_ 'The liquid that keeps your body going is the same color as mine...that pisses me the fuck off'. _No one wanted to go near such breath taking, heart stopping, eye popping, and (insert body part, verb ending in -ing here) ninja warrior.

He was practically untouchable because it seemed like he could kill people with his eyes.

They sat in an awkward silence until the concoction took effect and made Sasuke fall asleep reluctantly, giving Sakura time to gather green healing chakra in her hands. The first few times she tried nothing happened and then, on the third try, the familiar course feeling of healing chakra pulsed through her body. She slowly opened his shirt and sighed out loud because it seemed like she was living a dream.

How many nights growing up had she fantasized about seeing him without his shirt? About laying on his muscular chest and purring on top of him like a content cat? But no, her childhood dreams would have to wait, his condition was serious. Through his almost translucent skin she could see the swelling and bruising of all his muscles. The fire jutsu really did come from his insides, like he had a box of matches where his diaphragm was suppose to be. She carefully submitted her chakra into his system to heal him gently and without waking him up. Some of the blood vessels near his stomach and lungs were irritated and some of the smaller ones were leaking into his system. She used ever once of chakra she had and poured it into his damaged body.

By the time the sun was rising, she was still trying to heal him with the last of her healing chakra. The bruises and swelling had gone down a bit and all the vessels were completely healed. Exhausted and hungry, she collapsed next to him, one of his arms under head like a pillow. But they didn't notice.

Her only hope was that he would be okay.


	16. Chapter 16

_What am I feeling..._

_It feels warm..._

_Like someone is washing me with warm water..._

_But I'm not wet..._

_My insides do not ache..._

_But my arm is numb..._

_What's happening?..._

_Why do my eyes burn? _

Coal colored eyes blinked against the harsh light of the sun but he had to close them because they hurt so much. Wetness almost gathered at his eyes at the uncomfortable feeling. Something was weighing down his arm, and since he was temporarily blind, he used his hand to distinguish what it was.

First thing he felt was hair, lots of soft hair that had pieces of leaves in it. _Hair? But I usually sleep alone. _The person next to him let out a soft feminine groan that made him frown. What if the woman next to him was Karin? What if they did something...together...on the ground...in the forest...together...again...

_Shit..._

He got lucky once, what if he was stuck with her for real this time? What if the future members of the Uchiha clan had red eyes without the help of the Sharingan and red hair? What if they were...compulsive? And whiny? And bratty?

_Shit...shit..._

His hand continued to travel lower down the woman's face to her neck but he didn't permit himself to go _lower. _He wasn't the time of man to disgrace a woman. Even if it probably was Karin. The woman moaned and he felt her raise her hand and put it over his.

_This is awkward..._

Sakura came awake to the feeling of someone touching her and was startled to see that it was Sasuke. His eyes were closed which probably meant that they hurt from overuse of the Sharingan.

"Sasuke?", she questioned, sitting up, "What's the matter? Does anything hurt?".

His hand moved away from her body in a flash and he rolled on his side away from her. So it wasn't Karin that he did...something...with, it was the other girl! The black haired one from the Land of Waves! But...she would never hypnotize him in some way and then ravish him? What if...he did something to her?

_No, I wouldn't have...but...what if... _

He guessed that it probably wouldn't be a bad idea if to be stuck with her for eternity. But her competition was Karin...and every woman was better than her to Sasuke. The girl seemed like a capable ninja but her partner was a little suspicious. He said that his parents were from Konoha and he learned fire jutsus by scrolls that he stole from the village but despite that the Konoha ninjas didn't attack him. Sasuke remembered the Inuzuka as having the attitude of a dog, cuddly to that Hyuuga girl one moment and a mad wolf in another. And just like a dog, he was wary of strangers.

"Sasuke?", Sakura questioned again, turning him to her and running a cool hand down his chest to see if his insides were healed. The man shivered, _why is my chest exposed?, _and sat up slowly. In a second, he flashed out his sword and held it where he thought her neck would be, he poked the skin a little.

"What happened last night?", he growled at her, "Start talking".

Not frightened at all, Sakura disappeared from his front and appeared behind him. "You performed some jutsu that almost killed you and everything around you. I dosed the flames and collected herbs to heal your swollen blood vessels...", she continued to talk but Sasuke was deep in thought. She had seen him perform the Firestorm jutsu? And she...healed him? What gain could she probably acquire from healing him? And if she healed him why did his eyes hurt?

"Kunoichi, what did you do to my eyes?", he felt her cover his eyes with her hands and exhale.

"The jutsu wouldn't allow you to deactivate your Sharingan so your eyes will hurt for some time. It's best if you don't open them or strain them too much". He also felt her chakra, warm like sunshine, in his eyes and knew she was trying to heal him. She was a medical ninja as well, something that was hard to come across outside of villages. A little too hard to come across even in some villages.

_Hn._

She took her hands away from his eyes and walked ahead of him. "Let's get back to the team, they must be worried". Sakura watched him stand and take a step forward but he was not used to being without sight. For a ninja, sight was one of the senses they had to rely on. Some ninjas took advantage of this and used Genjutsus that attacked the eyes and mind. The eyes were sensitive to everything around them and useful for survival. Genjutsus tricked the mind into thinking something was real when it was just an illusion, only the most powerful ninjas could perform a Genjutsu.

It happened to Naruto when they were fifteen on their way to the Village Hidden in the Sand to rescue Gaara when Itachi attacked them. Naruto was stuck in a Genjutsu because he looked at Itachi's fingers and was trapped. He was so powerful, still an insane asshole though, that he could do Genjutsus without eyes. It didn't even seem like he was trying to suck someone into a Genjutsu.

"Just follow my chakra". Sakura spiked her flow a little which allowed him sense her better. He felt like he was following the heat of light toward the end of a dark tunnel. He tripped, a lot, and each time Sakura turned around to help him up. He even had cuts on his face and hands from falling on of twigs and sharp rocks. It was so depressing to see him like that, cut up and blind, and it made Sakura take her hand in his to help him walk the rest of the way.

"Do not touch me", he turned his face to her and tried to pry his hand away.

"You need help and I don't want to explain to them why you look so hurt". By the time they arrived at the campsite, Sasuke was scuffed and covered in dirt. They looked suspicious standing there with their hands held together, Sasuke looking uncomfortable and Sora looking accomplished yet tired.

The first person to step up to them was Karin, "You little bitch! Where the hell did you take my Sasu-".

"Enough Karin", Suigetsu said, "There's probably a good reason why Sasuke and the dragon girl both look like they've been rolling around the ground together...and holding hands".

Midori, who glared at Sasuke with unfeeling eyes, spoke up. "Sora, what happened?".

"Nothing, we just fell in a ninja trap hole in the ground and spent the night trying to get out". It didn't seem like it. For one thing, it didn't explain why they were still holding hands and why Sasuke had his eyes closed. As if hearing his thoughts, Sasuke pulled himself away from her and walked in the direction where Jugo was. The quiet man's chakra was calm and flowing slowly through him, it was colored a pale orange. He heard the girl walk away with her partner, whispering to each other. He heard the words "dangerous" and "careful" as they walked away.

Karin followed him and asked a million obnoxious questions but was quickly shut up by Suigetsu. "Leave him alone, he's tired" and he pulled her away from Sasuke.

Then, when everything was quiet, he saw a color flicker through his eyes.

Yellow. There was something about the color that was nostalgic. His heart pumped loudly in his ears, trembling in his chest, and he grasped the grass underneath him. Something about the color yellow disturbed him, made him angry. He then saw a scene replay itself underneath his closed eyelids, making his Sharingan burn. It was a boy with whisker-like markings on his face that radiated red chakra and he was looking up. His eyes were scarlet, like a Sharingan but just without the black markings...and that was unusual. _"Sasuke!". _The boy yelled and jumped up to meet him, a swirling blue chakra sphere in his hand. Sasuke's body trembled with anger and he wanted to slash the boy that occupied his thoughts...but he didn't know why.

Why did he want to hurt the boy? What did the boy do? His brain felt clogged and overused, a headache throbbing in his temples. It must have been a jutsu someone put on him to drain his memories so he wouldn't remember...the boy...or the girl...Sakura.

But why...what was so important about them? He must have made a noise or groaned because he felt Jugo turn to him and the girl walked over.

"Does your head hurt Sasuke?", she asked him and he heard her kneel before him. Jugo backed away slowly, he feared loosing control and attacking the girl again. All he could think about was how her blood tasted, spicy and sweet at the same time. Temptation in liquid form.

"No", Sasuke said, but something in his expression must have given him away. She knew where to put her hands so that they were right over his quivering veins and pushed her chakra into him. He could see its color, sparkling green, and it helped to flush away some of his pain. He saw the scene clearly in his head now, the boy called his name again.

But just what was his name?

The girl's chakra also seemed to unblock something in his mind because another scene started to play. He was sitting on a branch in a huge tree, just like he usually did, somewhere he didn't recognize. He then noticed the chakra strings that had him bound and a white haired, masked ninja with one eye stood in front of him. He was talking about something Sasuke didn't understand but he heard a name that he recognized.

Naruto.

That was the boy's name. He was a rival and a friend that he tried to deny. The scene changed and now he and Naruto were standing atop two huge statues in a deserted valley. The blonde was angry and shouted something that hurt his ears, something about Konoha meaning nothing to him.

Konoha... was the village of his birth...where the Uchiha clan originated from. And he left it to chase after his brother and kill him, but would he ever return?

If he did, what would he return to?

Who would want him back? They would just kill him for leaving and evading the Konoha ninja. The Hokage would sentence him to death or to be guarded by frikken ANBU until he died.

He wouldn't go back, ever, he didn't need them anymore. It was like they never existed to him. But maybe...he would go back...to kill the boy that now haunted his thoughts.

"Naruto", he whispered angrily, missing how Sora faltered above him.

_What..._

_He said Naruto's name...does he know who we are...why isn't he attacking me? _

"Naruto", she repeated, misprouncing the syllables on purpose, "Isn't that what you put on ramen?"

His eye lids flickered softly and he looked at her, eyes wincing against the sunlight. "Do not repeat anything you hear from me and do not say that name again".

Sora felt that something was stopping him from knowing more about the name Naruto. He didn't say it was the name of an ally or an enemy either. The chakra flowing into him never traveled in a straight line.

Something was blocking it.

She was about to release him when she realized what she was doing. If he remembered everything, their mission would be harder. His memories would float around his head with their names and past actions and he would either hate them or...hate them again. If he was ignorant like he already was, the mission was easier. He didn't know who they were and what they had done together, it was like they were never friends.

_It's not right to keep his memories from him...he needs to know everything..._

She took her hands from him and performed a seal. If the jutsu was a memory sealing one, it needed the right combination. Orochimaru knew Sasuke had fire type jutsus and he taught him snake Genjutsus so the easiest combination had to contain Tora and Mi. "Tora, Mi, Kai!", she felt a pull of her chakra somewhere in his mind and something snapped. Sasuke's hands flew to his eyes, his chakra flow was irregular.

_Itachi was carrying him on his back, Ninja Academy, Team Seven, Cursed Seal, Kakashi teaching him the Chidori, Chunin Exams, Gaara of the Desert, Naruto, Sakura, Hyuuga, Itachi, Sakura, the Sound Ninjas, Fighting against Naruto, Valley of the End, Cursed Seal Level Two, Orochimaru, Sound Base, Older Sakura, Almost killed Naruto, Replacement, Orochimaru, Deidara, Team Snake, Itachi..._

The girl had done something to his head that allowed all his memories to flow. He remembered everything in clear detail, especially Naruto and Sakura. Now he knew why, all the years he'd been traveling with Team Snake, he'd felt like something was missing. Like there was something he didn't understand and it caused him to think too much about everything.

"Are you feeling better?", she whispered, touching his temples. He shoved her hand away and stood on his shaky legs, every memory he had ever suppressed was rushing back so fast it pained him.

_Oh no..._Sora backed away from him..._What did I just do? _

She had just opened Uchiha Sasuke's equivalent of the infamous Pandora's Box...

And hoped it wouldn't come back to bite her or Naruto somewhere...


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** **_Thanks to everyone who reviews, alerts and favs, you guys keep me going. This one is dedicated to all my fateful reviewers. _**

* * *

In life, it's very easy to cast someone as the villain. In the movies, villains were usually all the same. Like a machine somewhere in upstate New York churned out the same type of bitchy girl or retarded ass boy for every movie there ever was. They're stuck up and arrogant, they flaunt all their "beauty" in everyone's face and always got in the way of the hero/heroine. She makes the heroine's life miserable until, of course, the end of the movie where the heroine takes her leading man and leaves the bitch with her lackeys or creep of a boyfriend. 

Same clichéd ending for every movie.

But life was not a movie. Some moments were either too depressing or too surprising to be scripted. In life, the "heroine" didn't win all the time. People weren't just good or bad. Dreams weren't just in black or white and no one was just pure or corrupted. There were grey areas everywhere, blending everything together to a point where nothing makes sense. In life, sometimes you weren't cast as the heroine. You're either the sidekick or the accidental villain in someone else's movie. Sometimes you're even a wall flower, a blade of grass in someone else's bountiful garden. A star that looks so small compared to the others yet you want to shine like a hundred flames.

Heroes weren't easily chosen in life either.

Not everyone was what they seemed.

Not everyone that fought for good was an angel and not everyone that fought for evil was a demon.

What was good and evil in life anyway?

What was good to others may be bad for a few and vice versa. Just because someone left to follow an "evil" ninja didn't mean he was his disciple or had good reasons for doing what he did. They might not have been great reasons but maybe it was just the only way he knew how to get what he wanted.

_His Grey Area: Doing the wrong things for the right reasons._

Just because someone was son of the Kazekage didn't mean he was treated like a prince. Aura darker than his innocent one followed him everywhere and tried to kill him every time. He grew up surrounded by lies and the sand, the latter was the only he could trust. He grew up thinking everyone was after him, so he hardened his personality so that it rivaled what protected him the most. He wasn't a stereotypical physco; he was just a little boy that no one had ever loved. Until he met someone, another Jinchuuriki, that changed the way he saw other people.

_His Gray Area: Killing was the only way he had survived the first twelve years of his life and he didn't know another way. He learned that __**people are stronger when they have something to protect**__ and lived by it for the rest of his life. _

Happily ever afters were only for childhood stories and dreams; they never applied to real life.

Nothing was ever what it seemed, you couldn't tell a book by its cover.

Remember that.

* * *

A tear rolled down her face while she stared at her hands. 

Sora watched Karin from across the river as she hastily tried to wipe her tear away.

Karin...was crying...?

_I have to look away...I need to look away..._

She wanted to turn and act like she never saw anything but she couldn't.

Crying meant that Karin had feelings, feelings meant she was human, and being human meant she was just like Sora.

Crying meant that Karin had a heart and she was hurting somewhere deep inside her. She would never look at the other woman that same way again, she wasn't just a floozy trying to sleep with Sasuke.

She had feelings and that was what made Sora walk across the river to her. Karin looked up to her and walked backwards trying to distance herself. A ninja never cried, it broke every rule in the handbook.

"Karin", Sora whispered, stepping lightly, "What's wrong?".

Karin turned her back to her and said in a trembling voice, "You would just laugh at me if I told you".

Okay now something was definitely wrong. Karin seemed like the type of girl who never care what people thought about her regardless of what she did.

"No...I wouldn't". If it was a different time, if the air wasn't so tense around them, she would of laughed like a mad woman and walked away with a smile on her face. But she was a medical ninja and her job was to help those who were hurting, physically or not.

"It's the anniversary", Karin whispered, clutching her head in her hands.

"Anniversary of what?", she would hate herself for asking, she just knew it.

"The day Sasuke and I slept together".

_W-what? _

Sora didn't trust herself to speak, to move, and shock settled in.

Karin...and Sasuke...together... The pain she felt stabbed at her from all directions but, somehow, she wanted to know more. She always asked questions whose answers would hurt her but she couldn't help herself.

Why did Sasuke treat Karin like that if they had been intimate?

_I...I feel like crying...and it's not even my story..._

"What happened?".

_No...Karin please...don't tell me...tell me to go fuck myself...run away just please...don't tell me. I...I don't want to know..._

"It was four years after I had joined his team making him 19 and I was 21. He was getting so restless at the age, snapping at everyone that said anything to him. Even Suigetsu was starting to get angry with him and threatened to slice him in half if he didn't sit still like a good little boy. But he just wouldn't stop. He was lost in thought half the time and always sweating like there was something burning in him".

_STOP!!!...Karin...please...stop talking..._

"He came to me one night and asked if I would take away the urges he had for my body".

A burning ache was starting in Sora's chest and she applied pressure to it to stop the bleeding. It took her a second to realize she _wasn't_ bleeding and the wound _wasn't_ external.

So why did it hurt so much?

"I've loved him from the moment I saw him and I immediately said yes. There was no kissing", her voice broke, "I undressed myself and him and in the end the only thing that touched me was his member. I made love to him and he just...fucked me".

_Why...why do I do this to myself. I always ask questions that hurt me to pronounce, always snoop around for answers that prick me whenever I hear them. Why? _

_Why do I cause myself so much pain? _

_I want to run away but my body won't let me..._

"That was the first and last time we ever did it together. He said he would only stay with me if I...conceived...".

_God please just shut up! I don't want to hear about...you and Sasuke... _

Crying seemed to be contagious around the kunoichi because Sakura also started to tear up. Her reason was selfish and she knew it but the tears wouldn't stop and soon they multiplied in numbers.

"My...my body rejected him so I didn't conceive and...he acted as if nothing had happened. I thought...it was the beginning of our relationship but...he just used me. He was hormonal and I was the quick fuck he needed to be normal again. I cried for days and no matter what I couldn't forget the way he looked at me when I first brought it up. He was disgusted with me and...and he said, 'You were just at the right place at the right time'...I tried to make him love me by always praising him and being by his side but...it's made him hate me. I'm like a wild animal to him that needs to be tamed and...I just hate it.". Karin turned, wiping her eyes, to Sora only to find the woman wasn't there anymore. She sniffled once before walking slowly into the forest to sulk by herself.

Meanwhile, Sora was running away as fast as she could. The moment she heard Sasuke would only stay with Karin if she conceived her legs took off by themselves. She didn't want to hear about their future or past child or anything that involved them together.

It was astounding how much Karin really was like Sakura.

In fact, she probably was who Sakura would have been if Sasuke had stayed in Konoha and never left. He would of just used her and left her like he did Karin.

But why?

Why would he do something so heartless?

Sasuke wasn't a bad person, she knew he wasn't, so why would he deliberately leave a trail of broken hearts wherever he went? It made her angry but not because of anything that Karin said, it was because of the pain in her own heart. Because for the first time she realized that Sasuke leaving wasn't such a bad thing in the first place.

_No...I can't say that...that's too selfish of me...Sasuke should of stayed..._

If Sasuke had stayed he would of used her just like he used Karin and tossed her aside without caring about her feelings.

Somehow, her own feet had taken her right to where Team Snake's camp was...right in front of Sasuke.

When she was younger, and slightly weaker, she would of cried her eyes out if she ever felt that much pain. But now that she was older and held greater chakra all she felt was anger.

It consumed her, eating away at her sadness until just anger boiled in the bit of her soil. She needed to release it like Midori released his Fire Dragon so she wouldn't burn alive.

"Fight me Sasuke", no one expected those words from her mouth.

Sasuke was leaning against a tree, his sword was laying across his lap. He was deep in thought, about his memories, so her voice didn't register until she repeated herself. Seeing him sitting there, so casually, made her anger boil dangerously and she hand went down to the kunai pouch on her hip.

"Whoa Sora", Midori ran to her and held her hand, looking confused, "We're a team remember, we don't fight each other".

"It's not like he's never done it before", she whispered, her voice hard like the kunai she now clutched.

"What's gotten into you?", Naruto whispered, "We can't give Sasuke a reason to suspect us of betraying him, drop your kunai".

_What the hell is wrong with her? I've never seen her so angry before. _

"It's not like he's never done it before", she repeated herself, glaring at Sasuke. The Uchiha was now paying full attention to the people a few feet from him. His gaze was drowsy but it didn't stop the shiver from running up Sora's spine.

_No...I can't be afraid now...I'm to angry to be afraid...heartless bastard. _

With the help of chakra and quick reflexes, she lifted one of her kunai and sent if spiraling in the air toward Sasuke. He didn't move his head away, it wasn't really aimed at him in the first place, but watched when the kunai speared itself next to his hair. Now, he was intrigued. Did the girl actually think a kunai would hurt him? Foolish. Midori looked so surprised it reminded Sora of Naruto for a moment. "Sora...what the hell...".

"Fight me Sasuke", she said again, coming closer to him.

"Uhhh", Suigetsu noticed the tense atmosphere and spoke up, "Kid...you better stop your girlfriend. Sasuke doesn't discriminate against ninja or kunoichi, if she attacks him...he'll fight".

Jugo looked on with interest as the girl stood over Sasuke with another kunai in her hand.

Brave, but stupid.

Very, very stupid.

Sasuke wasn't even looking directly at her anymore, just her shoulder. Was she not worthy of his gaze? He wasn't even taking her seriously, he just sat there. But when she drew the kunai closer to his neck, he glared mercilessly. The motion of his eyes narrowing activated his Sharingan, so he could see her pattern. It swirled around her, inside and outside, concentrating mostly around the kunai in her hand. It was so flood with chakra if she even took one swipe at him it could cause major damage. Sora drew closer when she felt a sharp object at her own neck.

_The fuck...was it Naruto?_

It was a kunai and from the corner of her right eye she could see the body...Sasuke. His body felt hot and intimidating on her back especially on the arm he wound around her waist. It was just to restrain her, nothing else.

"I do not appreciate being disturbed like that", he whispered pressing the kunai closer, "Yield kunoichi". Her eyes traveled to the Sasuke on the ground, he too glared at her but didn't speak. He was the Shadow Clone. He had replaced himself the moment she had threw the kunai and hid until she was going to try to stab him.

_Shit._

"Sasuke", she heard Midori speak, "Let her go, she's not feeling like herself today. I apologize for her...er...less than friendly behavior".

_No, don't apologize for me...I still want to fight him. I want to make him feel pain, the same pain he causes everyone without realizing it. Naruto had tried at the Valley of the End but now it's my turn. Finally. _

She summoned chakra into her feet and stomped it on the ground, it crumbled beneath her. In surprise, Sasuke let her go, disappearing into the nearest tree. She flipped back unto safer ground and looked around.

"Damn", Suigetsu said from his spot behind her, Midori blanched, "She's really angry". The long haired man looked at him in disbelief. He just thought Sora was so mad that it fueled her power, not that she was the strongest apprentice of the current Hokage. Capable of bruising you to death, healing you to perfection then slashing you with kunai and drowning you in water all in sequence.

"Come out and fight me Sasuke, don't be a coward", God now she was taunting him. Naruto didn't think Sakura would survive the aftermath of what she had provoked but one question lingered...what the fuck was going on in her head?

_I hope Sasuke doesn't kill her...again. _


	18. Chapter 18

Blood eyes watched her from in between leaves as the kunoichi stood her ground.

Just what the hell did she think she was doing?

Only suicidal or stupid ninjas would taunt an Uchiha like she had done. Not only that but she had managed to get close enough to him, she wasn't considered a threat in his eyes, and almost cut him with her weapon.

And what was with that powerful stomp that shattered the ground in half? Did they really teach that in Kirigakure? And she could heal too! Just who the hell trained her to be like that? All innocent looking yet confident and powerful.

_In fact, she can break every bone in my body. It's been a long time since I've admired a kunoichi's skill...this might even be the first time. _

The girl called his name out again before turning to look behind her. Suigetsu and her boyfriend were talking to each other in whispers, so low he couldn't even hear them. His Sharingan picked up the movement of her swiping her finger against the tip of a kunai. He glanced to make sure it didn't entice Jugo and saw that he had disappeared. He had probably gone to one of the hills he frequently visited in the area to calm his inner turmoil.

The girl performed a Tora seal before saying, "Ninja Art: Tiger in the Mist Jutsu".

That was something he had never heard before.

Probably some weird, blood filled jutsu she learned in her village. She came from the same place as Kisame and Suigetsu, something had to be wrong with her. They weren't exactly kunoichi friendly men-shark-things.

Fog started to swirl in from behind her like rolling clouds and moved into the trees. Sasuke jumped down soundlessly, hiding his sword into its sheath. The fog felt thick around him, like he could just reach out and touch it.

It made him uneasy...and then he knew why.

"Fuck", he whispered when he remembered something that had been hidden inside the excess of his mind. It was something from his childhood that he had read in an Uchiha scroll.

_::The Sharingan has one weakness, the only thing that can hinder its vision and is equivalent to the Byakugan's blindspot is fog. All Sharingan, no matter what the user fail dangerously in the presence of heavy fog::_

For some reason, he couldn't shake off the feeling that the girl knew what she was doing. He looked around and all he could see was fog, the girl wasn't even visible anymore.

He heard the unmistakable roar of a slinking tiger.

Tiger?

There weren't any wild tigers in the area...he didn't even think he had ever seen a wild tiger.

But it was there.

The animal slinked toward him slowly, its paws soundless in the white nothingness. It was white with midnight stripes all around its bodies and its green eyes stared at him. It bared its long, probably poisoned, fangs at him and walked forward.

The...hell...

_Is this her summoning? _

Sasuke looked closer, though his Sharingan couldn't see through the fog it saw the chakra in its eyes. Its eyes were chakra sensing. If he moved to the left, it moved its head to the left and glared. But besides that it was blind unless he let the tiger bite him. Then, after tasting Sasuke's chakra, it could easily track him down anywhere any time.

He would just have to attack it head on with his sword and tear it apart. If he did that, then the fog would probably disappear.

The tiger lunged at him, mouth angled at his throat. A swipe of its paw caught him off guard and he could feel the burn of a deep cut.

_Stupid shit. _

His anger mixed with the adrenaline pumping in his blood and he stabbed it until it was immovable. Blood didn't even squirt out of the damn thing but air did. He felt like he had just been messing with an inflatable toy...a toy that scratched. The girl needed a little more training in monitoring her chakra and her...animal thing. It wasn't a summoning at all, just a tiger jutsu. He had never seen an animal used in battle that wasn't a summoning.

It was interesting to see.

The fog disappeared just like he had thought and left the girl standing there still holding the seal. Her eyes gave away her surprise when she saw him.

Sora looked at the line of blood on his face and the dark anger his eyes held. The tiger had been too weak for him. She had spent months on it with the help of Kakashi and Tsunade but perfect jutsus took years to develop. Years and years to perfect to a legendary degree. The Tigers in the Mist jutsu was suppose to be her trademark, the jutsu that defined her.

Naruto had the Rasengan, Sasuke had the Chidori and Kakashi had the Raikiri. Everyone in Team 7 was _somebody _except her and it was frustrating. Demon Uchiha, Copy Ninja Kakashi, Naruto the Jinchuuriki...she wanted to be unforgettable too.

"You picked the wrong ninja to mess with, little girl", his sword tightened in his grip.

_Little girl? _

"I told you to fight me Sasuke, not to talk me deaf with your empty threats".

Who the hell was talking because she knew it wasn't her. It sounded like Tsunade with the confident air she always seemed to show.

His eyes did something weird at that moment, she saw herself. But that wasn't it, he came closer to her and showed her his eyes again and it froze her.

She saw herself...dying.

_

* * *

She saw Sasuke stab her heart and blood gushed out from the wound. It felt like a burning kunai had ripped a hole through her body. She saw him mark the unharmed parts of her body, her arms and legs, with a kunai of his own. He carved out his full name out down her arms, her screams echoed inside her head._

_S_

_A_

_S_

_U_

_K_

_E_

_U_

_C_

_H_

_I_

_H_

_A_

_She saw him draw the Uchiha emblem on her lower back with the bloody kunai. He brought it up to his lips and tasted it, smirking to himself. Her screams had died down to painful whimpers, the longer her heart kept beating the more everything else hurt...He picked up a new kunai, dipped it in her blood, and brought it toward her lips. "No"...she whispered in agony, turning her head. _

_"Taste it, taste your life force". _

_Her body shivered at the sound of his voice and her mouth opened in shock when he stabbed her somewhere else. He brought the bloody weapon to her lips and forced her to take it all into her mouth. It scratched her tongue and her blood filled all her senses. She was in horror when she discovered just how good her blood tasted._

_"M...more", her mouth whispered on its own. She saw him smirk and lick the bloody S on her shoulder. He grabbed her head and lifted her mouth to his. She could taste herself in his bloody kiss. And...it felt good. His mouth moved roughly over her, he bit her lips and drew blood._

_"Let me destroy you", his mouth whispered into hers, "Mind, body and soul"._

* * *

Her body refused to move, her lungs had trouble taking in air. The blood in her veins, in her heart, froze to the point where she felt drained. Fear itself was eating her up. 

A sense of deja vu came over her and she realized he had learned one of Orochimaru's jutsus. It was the one he used during her first Chunin Exams, it used fear to paralyze an opponent and the only way to break it was to cause physical pain.

She would have to stab herself.

_Sasuke doesn't know I know what to do...if I can ever do it... _She tried to lift her arm but it just trembled with raging nerves.

Sasuke saw her and walked closer, holding her chin when he was close enough. His eyes showed her another picture of her death.

_

* * *

This time she was paralyzed standing up, like she was in real life, and he was walking around her. He took out a kunai and made X's on all the visible parts of her body. She burned as beads of blood flowed down her arms and legs, dying her skin. He walked around her until her was entirely covered with bloody X's and stabbed her right in the back. _

_It felt like her heart was being broken...physically. He left his sword in there and twisted it around for pleasure, smirking at the tears that leaked out of her eyes. _

_"Cry all the tears you have, scream until your voice is hoarse bloody kunoichi. Feel the pain I give to you deep in the pit of your soul"._

* * *

Sakura closed her eyes. 

_It's just a genjutsu, it's just a genjutsu..._

The pain in her arm told her otherwise. She opened her eye lids a little to see Sasuke with a kunai in his hand, tracing an X on her arm. Tiny beads of blood trailed down into the smaller, lighter cuts she had from being in the forest too long. She couldn't even scream.

"Yield", he told her again, raising the weapon to start on another one. She needed to stab herself before he did. He could mark her a million times and it still wouldn't have released the genjutsu. She raised her arm, pouring all the chakra she could, and pointed it at her knee. Her chakra was just as frazzled as her nerves and scattered whenever she tried to gather it in one place.

She was hopeless.

Sasuke picked up her right wrist and touched the kunai there without breaking the skin.

"Yield or you will forever be marked by me, kunoichi".

"Sasuke!", Midori started to run to him but was stopped by Suigetsu's watery arms.

"No, stay here. He's got her in a genjutsu and it doesn't seem like she's coming out of it any time soon. Besides, never interrupt Sasuke's fights. You might get hurt".

_I don't care about that right now. Sakura's just standing there while Sasuke puts his marks all over her body until she surrenders._

"But...I have to...".

"Don't worry so much. Your lover landed a scratch on Sasuke, that's an accomplishment for any ninja".

It was true, she had, but how exactly had she done it?

Did Sakura attack him in the fog like Zabuza did to Kakashi once upon a time?

Did Sasuke dodge her attack too late or did she ambush him with Shadow Clones of her own.

The details were lost in the fog.

Sora felt Sasuke's menacing chakra start to overpower hers. Her left hand, that held the kunai, edged closer to her slightly bended knee. All she needed was one, quick burst of chakra into her hand to escape him. Her hand twitched with energy and she embedded the kunai into her knee before Sasuke could stop her.

_Clang_

"You fucking bastard", she spat every dirty word she knew at him. They bounced off his body, he didn't even blink.

_Clang_

_Swffft_

_Clang _

Sasuke deflected every swipe of her kunai but his blade clipped her a few times in the arm. He knocked the kunai out of her hand and pointed the blade at her, a dangerous smirk on his face.

_Fuck_

The pain crippled her and she limped away before disappearing from his sight. Sasuke grasped at the air and disappeared after her, chasing her through the air. She ran, well...she sort of limped very fast away powered by chakra, through the forest in weird, zig zag lines.

Sasuke easily gave chase like a hawk gliding over its erratic prey.

Eventually, Sora began to feel the early signs of chakra depletion and drastically slowed down. He caught up to her and slammed her front first into the bark of a tree. Her face, chest, stomach and abdomen were almost crushed on impact. She was so drained of chakra that Sasuke was the only thing holding her up, even if he was pinning her roughly. It would have felt kinkier if he allowed her to breathe normally.

"You traitor. Bastard. Fucker.", wheeze, "Fucking ass hole. Heart breaker". He was immune to her words.

_Crush. _

_Squeeze._

_Pant._

_Pant._

He panted softly into her ear and pushed her harder into the tree until he heard her groan.

_Owww._

Did he _want _to squeeze the hell out of her?

"What have you been planning, kunoichi? What could you have gained by wounding me? Are you hiding something from me? Do you want to know what happened to the last person who ever betrayed me?".

_**It was Itachi**_

"Are you an avenger now? Are you the angel for some poor soul that's withering away at the base of a tree somewhere because I cut their heart out? Are you? Don't waste your time. I do everything I do for a reason. Don't question me. Do you understand?". He didn't expect her to answer.

_Did he just call me an angel? How swe..._

**_Crush._**

**Push. **

**_Squeeze. _**

_Never mind. _

"Yield and I will forgive this as being just another episode women tend to have". He said it like he knew why she had attacked him. She groaned something that sounded like a no and he pressed her harder, if that was even possible, into the tree.

She let out a harsh cry, something embedded itself in the cut she caused with her kunai, and dropped to the ground when Sasuke stepped away from her. She coughed and gagged before holding her aching ribs in place. Sora glanced up and saw Sasuke glaring down at her while dried blood clung to his face. He took in her overall scratched, bleeding and bruised appearance before walking away, putting back his sword.

_He had won. _

She swallowed nosily before attempting to get up. But her legs felt like they were disconnected from her body. She looked down, to her arm, and saw the symbol Sasuke had carved into her. She was marked...as his prey. If they ever got into a confrontation again...he would not hesitate to murder her.


	19. Chapter 19

Friends and enemies worked together to maintain the balance. Just like every other positive, negative influence world. What is fire, an oxygen eater, without water, which was composed of some oxygen? What was the sky, the clouds and the celestial bodies, without the ground? It would all just be sky. 

Without enemies, how would a person know the satisfaction of having someone they could depend on and work together with? Without friends, how would a person survive his enemies? Let's take the Three Legendary Sanin as examples. Jiraiya, the Toad Hermit, was very good friends with Tsunade, Slug Princess and current Hokage of Konohagakure. They grew up together and suffered loses together, some hurt more than others. Nawaki. Dan. Minato. Their precious dead impacted the way the Sanin viewed themselves and each other. They were on a team with Orochimaru as young ninja and considered him a good shinobi but he was just so serious. He had a dream, to avenge someone perhaps?, and hated it when people got in his way. His personality drew in Tsunade like a lure for a while until she realized his ambitions were darker than her own. He left the village after Minato was proclaimed Hokage, becoming an S- Class Missing Nin. His labs were raided and his crooked experiments were found. The next time the Sanin saw each other, they no longer considered each other team mates. When Tsunade returned as the new Hokage, she looked to Jiraiya as a fateful companion. But Orochimaru was now her enemy.

It could happen like that to anyone. Friendships were like plants, and if they weren't tended to and cared for regularly, they dried up and died.

What was more surprising was when friendships sprang up like weeds all over someone's garden. Weeds were known as unwanted plants, nuisances, which sucked up the nutrients other beautiful plants needed to survive.

To compare a friendship to a weed sounds bad but think about it...someone's weed may be another person's exotic flower.

* * *

Midori had gone searching and had found her dozing against a tree. With some shaking and a Chakra Replenishing Pill he borrowed from Suigetsu, she was on her feet and walking toward the camp site. 

Sasuke was not there when they arrived.

She healed herself slowly, watching as the scars appeared. Funny how whenever she was in a fight that involved a heart, her's or somebody else's, she always left with scars.

Karin came back to camp a while later, composed and refined, and wondered what had gone on. Sasuke's Sharingan was burning a hole through her face and his entire aura was darker than usual. She glanced at Sora, who was bandaged up and looked like a disciplined dog, before turning back to him.

"Sasuke", she asked with concern, "Did she do something to you?".

Huh?

Midori and Sora were huddled together a few feet away from them, Suigetsu tending to the fire. Which was just a little interesting to see. Whenever he got close enough to it, the little embers at his feet burned out and he swore. But, amazingly, he didn't evaporate like Midori originally thought.

He just stood there and complained of the heat. Just like the fish boy he was.

Sasuke glanced at the blue eyed girl and closed his eyes, not speaking. Karin turned around to Sora, "What's wrong with you?! Why would you attack him like that?". Hello?

Was she blind? Sasuke had obviously won the fight.

And why was she bitching anyway?

Sora had attacked Sasuke because of her, to avenge her...spirit...or something. In shock, and confused, Sora said nothing and continued to stare at her.

"Well?", she asked, glaring her down, "Why?".

So that was it.

It was all a sob story.

Sasuke may have slept with her, maybe he didn't, but Karin had played her. She just needed someone to lie to and Sora was right there. She was like a puppet and Karin was her master, making her dance with a flick of her wrist. Everyone knew that the quickest way to piss off Sasuke was to fight him without a warning first and she had done it.

But then she smirked to herself.

Though she had partially fought Sasuke for Karin...it was more about her secret goal. She had always wanted to fight him, ever since their Genin days. For once, it was good to be selfish.

"Go way", Midori flipped her off, "She doesn't need to tell you anything".

Of course, he already knew why Sora had attacked Sasuke. He didn't find it hard to believe he would do something like that with Karin. Sasuke had changed a lot since they last saw him, nothing was impossible anymore.

"Yes she does", God she wouldn't shut up, "Why would she do something like that to her own team mate?".

Psycho.

Split personality psychotic ass bitch.

Their fishy companion walked to Karin and grabbed her arm. "Shut up already! Mind your own business".

"No! She attacked him, why didn't you stop her!".

"They were practicing! She got a lucky shot! Shut up!".

_Thanks fishboy_, Sora smiled, _you're not so bad after all. _

That night, Sora found it hard to sleep. She snuck out of Midori's grasp, he snored lightly, and jumped from tree to tree. She didn't know where she was going, she could have traveled miles before she slowed down. Water called to her, not like a moth to a flame.

That analogy was too tamed.

And cliché.

It called to her like lightening to a solitary tree instead, igniting her senses. She traveled so far that she ended up on a cliff that over looked a large body of water, many miles from camp. She kneeled a few feet away from the edge and watched as the moonlight played on the gentle waves. She lost herself in trying to find shapes in the patches of light.

When all was said and done, she realized that Karin was more than she had originally thought.

She wasn't just a misunderstood lover or a demented stalker...she was somewhere in between. She was a strategist in some ways. She had pushed Sora to the edge, causing her to attack Sasuke, to possibly tear the team apart.

Trying to humanize someone like her was too easy, calling her a flame haired monster was also too easy. People were never easy to figure out, especially those that had a mind like Shikamaru yet acted like Ino back in her Genin days.

Sora closed her eyes, lulled into relaxation. Her other senses spiked considerably and she heard someone walk toward her.

It wasn't Midori, around her he had heavy feet.

It wasn't Suigetsu, he had smooth, fluid feet. So much so that it seemed like he was always walking on water. This person made their footsteps purposely detectable so she would know they were coming.

"Your anger didn't fuel your strength as much as it should have".

Somehow, his voice didn't surprise her. His words didn't either.

He continued, "You focused your energy on injuring me that you did not guard yourself as a good kunoichi should have". His words, straight from some hand book, drifted around her like butterflies in a daze. She heard him walk and stand behind her, the wind carried his familiar scent.

"You already won the fight, there is no need to rub salt in the wound".

She could almost hear him smirk. "On the contrary, I think it was you who won the fight". They spoke so civilly to each other after bruising and cutting each other. But they just wrote it off as a friendly squabble...right? No harm done to either party, much anyway.

She opened her eyes and glared at the air before her. "Did you miss the part where you nailed me to a tree?", sarcasm dripped from her every word.

"I may have been a little too rough on you but it wasn't my fault. A ninja shouldn't start a fight it can't finish".

Now she was just annoyed. Did Sasuke always lead her around in circles with his words?

"What do you want Sasuke? I'm sure you didn't follow me out here just to lecture me on shinobi ethics".

"No", he whispered, "I didn't. You have the potential to be legendary but your emotions dictate your attacks. I don't know how kunoichi were trained in Kirigakure but I know that they didn't stress unnecessary emotions in combat".

_Are you quite finished? _

Something about the way he said it made her pause. He couldn't be suggesting that...

_No... _

_He couldn't be... _

She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Do you want to train me Sasuke?". His expression didn't change but his eyes almost gave away their surprise.

He crossed his arms and tried to cover it up. "Why would you even suggest such a thing kunoichi? I am not your babysitter". He would never admit it out loud so she would have to make it seem like it was her idea.

"So...can you please help me improve Sasuke-sensei?".

She almost laughed.

At the beginning of the mission, she was afraid of seeing him again. She panicked at the thought that she still had feelings for him, even after everything he did. Now she found it easy to talk with him.

When they were young she was never treated as a friend. A parasite maybe, a stalker, but never a friend. She had fallen in love with the way he had acted on the battle field, his Sharingan and his voice when he faced an opponent. The way he never had to say a word to shut someone up and the fact that no matter how annoying or ignorant she was, he never wanted to intentionally hurt her. Somehow he always wanted to protect everyone around him, just like a certain foxy ninja.

"Don't call me Sasuke-sensei, I don't want to be your teacher. You just need someone to help you improve your skills".

"And can you do that for me?".

"You will have to do something for me first".

Of course she would have. He always wanted something in return.

"What is it?", she asked, expecting the worst.

Assassination.

Theft.

Exploitation.

Prostitution.

What could he need?

"You are a self proclaimed thief, are you not? I want you to go to Konoha and steal another fire scroll for me".

Okay...she could do that. Steal was a harsh word to use, the Hokage would probably just give it to her. "Any kind?".

"No just one on either Madara Uchiha or S rank fire jutsus". It would be kind of hard but for the sake of the mission, and his trust, she needed to get it done.

"Done, so will you train me?". He looked at her before letting his eyes drift to the stars above.

"Only under moonlight and your companion is not to know about this. For the sake of this team you will have to get stronger, kunoichi".

She turned her body to face him and said, "And my name is not kunoichi, it's Sora".

He angled his head down to her, "I can call you whatever I want _kunoichi_, your name doesn't matter to me".

"You're not a people person are you?".

"No".

* * *

Ninjas were weird. Between being enemies on the battle field, acquaintances in camp ground and friends on cell missions, how could they survive? A shinobi's enemy became his friend at least once in his lifetime. They all had the same purpose in life, surviving. And when that didn't work the same thing happened to them. They died. They all went the same route once Death beat them over the head with his pointy, shiny scythe. It probably would put Zabuza's Kubikiri Houcho, or Head Chopping Cleaver, to shame. Pretty sad, don't you think? A ninja and his opponent frequently died together in the midst of a battle. And they were proud to do it. In many cultures, enemies were sacred because they made their opponents strong. Friends were scared because they kept them strong, no matter how hard their enemies hurt them. 

It was a give and take. Like dancing or...making love.

But the latter was too extreme to do and think about. Especially on the battle field when an enemy flings explosive tags and kunai every few minutes. It was always easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. A person expected more from their friend and nothing at all from their enemy.

Except Sasuke. He became his enemy in order to defeat them.

In a way, he was his own worst enemy.

And his only friend.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning Sora awoke to the chirping of a very familiar bird. She moaned, rubbed her eyes and looked around for any sign of bird-thing. He was seated on her chest, his little ink claws rested against her shirt. He looked down at her with pitch black eyes and flapped its wings so he sprayed her with ink. She glared at it and wiped her face, smudging it more.

"Midori," she called, trying to reach him without disturbing the bird. His back was to her on the branch he slept on and she kicked his leg to get him to wake up.

"Hmm," he asked, rolling over to look at her, his green eyes clouded. His eyes landed on the bird and he smiled warmly, opening his hand to the little fowl. Bird-thing jumped off of Sora and chirped up at him, leaving ink marks on his palm. "Ehh he's leaking," he looked over to her, "There's an empty scroll in my bag, get it please."

Sora complied and fished around his bag, taking out a large, folded shuriken instead. It looked so familiar that she had to handle it carefully as a long forgotten memory replayed in her head. Sasuke. Naruto. Sakura. Kakashi. Zabuza. Water. "You don't even use shuriken," her eyes reflected themselves on the glossy steal, "What's the point of having one if you don't use it?"

He looked up and said in a low voice, "You remember that jutsu you-know-who did when we were younger. Demon wind shuriken?"

"Yes."

"I've been trying to learn it but...,"bird-thing squeaked, bringing attention to itself. It puffed out its small chest and gave a shrill squeak, splattering ink everywhere. "Someone's impatient," Midori frowned at it, his face going blank when the bird frowned at him as well.

_The hell...? _

Sora took out the blank scroll and unrolled it on the branch. Bird-thing jumped down and became written characters in one fluid motion.

_Hello again Sakura, Naruto_

_I am sure you are doing well on your mission_

_But some commotion has come up_

_The Akatsuki are on the move again and have been spotted in the area around Konoha_

_Our expert Jounin say that they are looking for Naruto again_

_But they can't find him_

_In time, they will grow impatient and start to infiltrate the village_

_A few of our top ranked Jounin have joined ANBU to diminish the threat_

_The Kazekage has also been informed and his Sand shinobi have been helping in patrolling our borders_

_Your sensei has something he wants to say to you_

The hand writing changed to the familiar style of the Copy Ninja Kakashi.

_Hello Naruto, Sakura!_

_Have you been enjoying your mission?_

_Sakura please do me a favor and punch Sasuke in the face when you see him_

_Hard..._

_Make him bleed..._

Sora and Midori looked at each other, slightly confused and very afraid.

_Ha! Ha! Just kidding!_

Right...

_Keep in touch and never let your guard down_

_-The Scarecrow_

Tsunade's hand writing entered again.

_You are set to return to the village in three and a half years_

_We will form a plan to ambush Sasuke on the eve of your return_

_-Goodbye and Good Luck_

Sora looked at Midori and frowned, watching bird-thing form itself again. "They're going to capture him when we get back?" she asked.

Midori rubbed his neck, opening his hand to the little bird. Bird-thing huffed but complied, chirping softly under his inky breath. "I guess, I mean the you-know-what is still going to try to get him even if we go back.".

"But how exactly are they going to find him? With the trackers?"

"Maybe", he lifted his hand to the sky and bird-thing flew away from him, "They do need strategy."

Even if the idea was a little tired and played out. Capturing him never seemed to work, even when they were never more than a few steps behind him. He was a master when it came to deception and out witting an opponent. Konoha ninja must have slashed a million of his Shadow Clones before they realized he was long gone.

He was just too good.

Too smart.

Too fast.

The perfect cross between a Konoha ninja and a Sound ninja. Like Orochimaru but...not so I-want-to-take-over-the-world-like. At least they hoped he wasn't like that.

The quiet morning air was a little too quiet and Sora looked around for any sign of anybody else. "Where is everyone?" she asked, jumping down. She faltered a little, the wound on her knee wasn't fully healed yet, before balancing out.

"I don't know," Midori said, still on the huge branch, "It's good that they're gone for a while. Things keep getting crazy around here."

"Well what did you expect? Sunshine and rainbows when we joined them? A happy team that looks after one another? I don't think so. This is a ninja-eat-ninja kind of team, not one I have ever been part of before."

Midori laughed loudly, startling her. She was a little jumpy that morning for a reason she couldn't place. "You've been eating your share of ninja, haven't you?" he smiled. The smile almost gave away his disguise, she could almost see that foxy grin he got when something was on his mind. Something like the male version of gossiping or talking smack.

"What do you mean?" She looked around the camp ground, trying to find whatever was making her nervous. She couldn't sense anything in the area and it made her uneasy. There must have been at least some animal sneaking around the forest. It was never so deserted.

She sat on the ground after a while and stretched out her cramped muscles. Being ninja wasn't a very glamorous lifestyle. She frequently had splinters, cuts on her legs from running in the grass, aching joints, knots in her hair so big they resembled fuzzy spiders and the ever popular chapped lips that burned in the cold. She could never stay as manicured and as clean as Ino always looked.

Sakura was the type of ninja that liked being in the middle of a battle, the eye of the storm, where time seemed no existent. She loved the rush she got whenever a kunai whizzed by her side or the adrenaline spike of dodging a blade or fist. It made her feel useful, unlike her younger days when she preferred to stay away from immediate danger. She used to fantasize about being a princess, wearing long dresses, growing her hair to her waist again, and painting her nails different colors. Every color known to man. But then, the fantasy took a more familiar turn when she speculated that she could at least hide three kunai and six shuriken in her dress. Two more shuriken if she hid them in her hair as decorations.

A ninja princess always occupied her thoughts, just like Tsunade.

"You and Karin fight like ninja cats, Jugo almost went Orochimaru on you and you challenged Sasuke to a fight. The only one that's left is Suigetsu and he thinks you two are family. He would never lay a hand on you." He turned on his side to look at her better, looking a little too interested. "So, how did fighting Sasuke feel?" She frowned, lying on her back against the grass.

What did it feel like?

Dancing maybe, a give and take.

She went, he followed.

She cut, he returned the favor.

She swiped at his body, his sword swiped at her kunai.

"So how did it feel?", she rested her wrist against her closed eyelids.

"Honestly, it hurt like hell", she rubbed her eyes, "I never thought fighting him would be feel so painful. I couldn't land a single blow on him."

_But it felt electrifying. Like a million mini chidoris were pulsing through my blood stream. _

_Like diving from the tallest mountain in Konoha and crashing against the raging river. _

"How did you get that scratch on him then?"

Sora smiled a little, "A jutsu I developed, Tiger in the Mist."

Midori snorted, "Mist huh? I knew you would pick something like that."

"What? It's a tribute to my homeland."

"Homeland, right. So are you gonna develop a Tiger Hidden in the Leaves next?"

She laughed, "Shut up, that'll give me away". _Actually, that does sound like a good jutsu._

Closer than imaginable, a figure rested itself against a tree. He was in the same one Midori was just higher. His red eyes opened, the black shapes harshly contrasted against their bloody borders. What he had just heard didn't shock him, he knew one of them was from Konoha, but to hear the man say it out loud was aggravating. So it was the girl.

_The little bitch..._The foolish girl that he agreed to train was deceiving him all along. He knew it. A strong kunoichi like her was too good to be true. Too good to be easily defeated by him. She was from Konoha, his former home, and she was probably some body he knew. He only remembered one kunoichi's name, Sakura, but he needed to know more. It could have been her but the chances were slim. He needed the dark haired, blue eyed girl's information and he needed it as soon as possible.

He suddenly knew what to ask of her, what scroll would be of importance. They were entertaining themselves so they didn't notice when he jumped from tree to tree until he was a few yards away.

_I want to thrash her against the closest tree and ring her neck until she stops breathing_. How dare she betray him. How dare she be so confident in her skills that she would talk about them so openly. Where anyone could hear.

Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo were at another village, buying useful necessities. He had stayed behind, wary of leaving the two new ninja alone again. Last time, the Inuzuka had showed up with his beast and no one was injured. It was strange and suspicious. He walked into camp, making himself noticeable.

They stopped talking when they saw him, the man dropped from above and stood on the ground. "Hello Sasuke-sensei, did you sleep well?".

How dare she.

How dare she mock him like she actually cared.

Midori looked at Sora like she had lost her mind, his eyes wide in fear. The hell was she saying?

"Don't call me that, kunoichi, I warned you," he looked at her before changing his tone of voice.

He needed her assistance...to destroy her. That was always his plan.

It hadn't failed him yet. Konoha, Kakashi, Orochimaru...the list went on.

"I need you to get me a scroll," he said softly. She knodded, not looking surprised.

_She was expecting this..._

_I like my prey to be surprised..._

"From the Hokage's Secret Files, every single registered kunoichi in the Konohagakure area." She still didn't look surprised. _She is going to be harder to break. _

"Sure, we'll leave tomorrow."

"_We'll?_" Midori glanced at her, "Whose this _we'll_ you speak of?"

She looked at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon Midori, you've done this before haven't you? It's the same thing." He still looked at her and then at Sasuke. The request was a little too precise...maybe it was just a coincidence.

Not.

"I want you to leave tomorrow," he said, his eyes narrowing, "Can you do that kunoichi and...friend?"

"Sure Sasuke, we'll be back in a few days."

"Good." _Just enough time to gather the most information on you. Beware kunoichi, the last person who betrayed me wound up with bleeding eyes and his heart torn out while he was still alive. I'm sure your death will be more enjoyable. _

* * *

That night Sora met Sasuke on the cliff, he was meditating there silently. A small fire was burning before him, casting a red glow on his features. His chakra pulsating calmly, like the smooth water below him. She stood awkwardly behind him for some time before sitting next to him, mimicking his posture. His eyes opened a little and he glanced at her, his Sharingan seemed darker in the fire light.

"So...we'll start to train when I get back?" she asked, noticing the way he stared unblinking at her. His gaze was heated and, for some reason, she felt like he was trying to look through her jutsu. Which was impossible. Jutsus made by the Kages of villages were the strongest ever. Those didn't need handsigns. Jutsus like the Rasengan were even more deadly because they were virtually unpredictable.

"Yes," _if you get back. If I don't strangle you the moment I find out what you're hiding. _

_"_What are we doing tonight then?"

His eyes closed and he sighed, "Conserve your chakra for your journey. I won't help you improve until after you arrive back from Konohagakure."

Her next question did not surprise him. "Is the scroll really important? I mean...what could you want with someone from Konohagakure, a girl no less." She said the country's name as if it left a horrible after taste in her mouth. If he knew less, he would of believed her. She was the perfect actress and it infuriated him.

He opened his eyes.

Never had someone so easily gotten under his skin like she did.

Never had he ever felt an immense hatred for someone of his own team.

Never had he felt so stupid for allowing someone to enter his team.

"I didn't ask for your opinion nor do I need it. Just get me the scroll and don't speak of it anymore."

Sora looked at him and he stared right back. She couldn't understand what had made him so mad. Sasuke was always the silent, dark type that didn't need to shout to make others afraid of him. He could whisper a threat and make a person deaf even if he didn't scream at him. He was mostly indifferent about anything and everything and preferred to keep others out of his business. He didn't have to get angry to get what he wanted so what was wrong with him? And why wasn't he helping her train? He had offered, sort of, so why wasn't he doing anything?

She looked away from his eyes and stared at the fire, getting lost in different shades of red and orange. His attitude at time resembled the flickering fire, always wavering from emotion to emotion but never really cooling down.

"Is something wrong Sasuke?"

He didn't answer and just settled for glaring at her, his eyes speaking more than his words would ever do.

..._Die..._


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **Hey guys! I'm so sorry of the long hiatus but I lost my inspiration to keep writing this story but now I'VE GOT IT!! MuaHaHah I will finish this, and I will make a sequal cuz this story is strangely addictive. Please forgive, _lo siento, _if I've turned some people off with the long wait but I am baQQ n here to staY!!

And, although Sora and Midori don't really appear in this chapter, I hope to finally painted Suigetsu in a newer light.

EnjoY and as always RevieW, you guys keep me going through those effing writers block moments.

* * *

He was quiet, blending into the foliage of the closest tree. His light blue eyes looked around for any movement that would show what the tree across from him was hiding. All he needed was one leaf to move without the help of the wind or the crackling of a weighed down branch. One sight. One sound. All he needed was one.

_Come out, come out where ever you are._

Karin had said that a ninja was near camp and judging from his chakra, he was doing a fantastic job at hiding himself. He hated him already. His pale tongue darted out to taste the forest air rapidly, eerily reminiscent of how his former master did it.

And he could smell sweat. The type of sweat associated with fear and nervousness, the type of sweat he loved to taste. He heard the leaves swish ahead of him and his eyes flew to see a brown eye poke out.

_Hello there. _

He froze his body in only a way he could and made a Shadow Clone of himself.

The Clone smirked before evaporating in a small cloud of vapor. Suigetsu now saw the world through his clone's eyes. There was a blur of green before the back of a person came into view. The man was dressed in typical Shinobi gear with short brown hair and very pale skin.

The Clone's eyes narrowed in on a thick vein at the back of the man's head, causing Suigetsu's attention to waver. With every moment the man perched on his branch the vein pulsed and throbbed, begging to be set free from its fleshy confinement. All he had to do was dig a hole in the man's skin with a nail and drink from that glorious... Suigetsu shook his head harshly, smoothing the hair away from his eyes.

_Focus, _he commanded himself and the clone. There was no room for mistakes on such an easy target. The Clone penetrated the air with its tongue to get a closer smell, filling Suigetsu's senses with an unmistakable taste and scent. The ninja was drugged and his sweat was polluting the air around him.

_How sad...oh well, that's not my problem. _The Clone crept closer, just an inch away from the ninja now. "Don't turn around," he whispered, the man whimpered in fear. It was obvious he had no idea what the risks of his mission were. Homicidal man built like a wrestler. Slivering, shark hybrid addicted to blood. And Karin, but she wasn't really that important to mention. They were Sasuke's bodyguards in a way, in a very twisted way, but Suigetsu didn't care. He loved confrontation and he hadn't killed a ninja in days. It was almost a new record for him. The Clone put a hand on the man's shoulder, vapor rose from its hand at how hot the body was.

"Pl...please don't kill me," he mewled like a kitten, squirming under the clone's weightless hand.

"It's not nice to intrude without introducing yourself," with his free hand, the Clone took out and unfurled a timed exploding tag with the character for water.

"I...I...I didn't want this job," the man was almost sobbing, making Suigetsu frown in distaste.

_Grow a backbone, pussycat, take your death, if not like a man, then like Leaf ninja at least, hot damn! _

"I have a...a f-family and I didn't want this job! They poisoned me so my body was under their control...and...plea-se," he hiccuped, "Don't kill me!"

"Quiet you tantalizing piece of human flesh," the Clone whispered, holding the tag between his thumb and forefinger, "Now who poisoned you?"

"I...I don't know his name," he squeaked, "But he had orange hair...and piercings everywhere and..."

Pein and the Akatsuki.

Of course.

Who else would give them warning, Kisame visiting, and then using a ninja to surprise them. It was only a matter of time before that dick sucker and the plant thing came out of nowhere and forced Sasuke to join them.

Annoying fuckers.

The Clone softly placed the tag on the man's back and bit his thumb, leaving a streak of water on the tag's base. It evaporated completely before the tag erupted. From his vantage point, Suigetsu felt the explosion by the trembling of the tree and the spattering of blood between the leaves.

He didn't know why but the sight of scarlet against the emerald leaves attracted him in a way blood rarely did. He didn't want to lick it clean off the leaf. He didn't want to kill again and bathe in the blood like a predator.

No...he didn't. He wanted something more. He wanted to paint with the blood. Yes paint and form pictures that spoke in ways only blood could. The agony, the fear, and the sadness only a droplet could express. He had never had that feeling before. He never looked as blood as another liquid that wasn't to be consumed. He was a killer, a ninja not an artist but his entire life seemed like a gallery.

Always filled with bright colors and hidden agendas and emotions, always either half full or half empty.

Always filled with ever changing self portraits with distorted shapes.

Always being told his paintings were never good enough, always too shallow like the water he could turn into.

He wanted to paint all he knew with the blood. A portrait of a young boy taken from his home and forced into servitude by someone who wanted him as a "son."

Maybe.

An abstract piece with red diluted into shades of pink molded into strange shapes by a wet finger.

Possibly.

But for that moment, that small moment, Suigetsu wasn't just a killer. He wasn't just an experiment gone wrong that carried a sword bigger than him. He felt the wave of creativity writers felt when they were entertaining a thought in their heads and suddenly a story was born. But for him it was blood against a leaf, symbolic in a way he didn't even know.

"There are more of them out there," he whispered to Jugo who had come out of hiding and stood above him in the tree, "They're coming to us."

"Hmmm," Jugo acknowledged his statement with a tilt of his head, his head turning when he felt something.

"Suigetsu, Jugo," and there came the bossman himself. Always appearing after all the drama.

"Yes?", Suigetsu, turned his head to look at Sasuke. He was looking up at them from the ground, his Sharingan scanning the area where the man had once breathed. He knew what they had done and said nothing.

_It's his business, _Sasuke thought, the Sharingan making the still lingering chakra more noticeable. "I have sent the new girl and her companion to Konohagakure for an errand, they will leave this morning."

"Konohagakure?" Suigetsu echoed, a smirk lighting up his face, "What errand?"

"I need a scroll from the Hokage," he said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if they weren't talking about his past home.

"Why don't you go and get it yourself?" he taunted, fully smiling now.

"You're not funny," Sasuke replied emotionless, "I have nothing to do with that place anymore."

_Yet he circles around it more times than dazed ninja hyped up on cactus juice, _Suigetsu shook his head. "Leaf nin still have a thirst for your blood," he said, "And what scroll?"

Sasuke's eyes fell ground level as he spoke, "If you must know, it's the kunoichi registrations."

At that, the blue haired creature turned, lifting a bottle of water from his clothes. He unscrewed the bottle and took a sip, "A wife catalogue?" He put the bottle back safely, "Is your clock ticking, Sasuke? Do you feel an urge in the depths of your loins? Do you wish to be fruitful and multiply?"

All the taunting didn't even draw a response from the other man, who just shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm just researching something."

He heard it. After years and years of hearing Sasuke talk about things that he didn't care about to things that pissed him off, Suigetsu knew when he was angry. Even it was a little bit, even if it didn't show on his face, Suigetsu knew when something bothered him. "You don't believe she is who she claims to be eh?"

"That does not concern you," Sasuke narrowed his red and black eyes, "I just heard something."

"Are you sure she's not making a fool of you? If you believe she's from Konohagakure and you go there and see for yourselfand you get captured, what'll you do?"

Sasuke refused to admit it but he had never thought of it that way before. What if they had heard him? What if it was a deliberate trap? "Very well," he said turning, "They will leave of Konohagakure in a few hours. You and I will follow them."

"What about the bitch and Jugo?" Sasuke looked to Jugo who met his eyes with quiet consideration.

"Jugo will be fine until we get back and Karin is asleep behind a log a few yards form here."

"Asleep or unconscious?" Same difference really but he wanted to know which of the two Sasuke had intentionally sought after.

Sasuke turned and looked at him from over his shoulder, "Unconscious."

Suigetsu laughed quietly, "Do you have a fetish for knocking girls out and leaving them somewhere alone? I mean, this isn't the first time you've done this to her."

An image flashed behind his eyes, so quickly his eyes shut to preserve it in his mind. It was of a girl, a pink haired girl, passed out on a bench and her skin drenched in his scent. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than he had already done.

_Everything he did hurt her...every single one of his actions affected her in a way he couldn't understand. _And it wasn't a fetish as Suigetsu said and he had only done it to one other girl before. It was his form of a goodbye handshake of hug, every time he had to go somewhere and a girl that was obsessed was right there, he knocked them out. He did it gently the first time with the girl from the image but he tossed Karin around like a rag doll. His displeasure of her grew every day.

Suigetsu then said, "The Akatsuki are coming after you. The blood is from one of their puppets."

"I know and soon enough I intend to give them what they want. There is something I need to finish in Konohagakure, something I started long ago."

_...something like two bonds that won't stay severed...two fires that won't extinguish no matter how hard he had tried... _

"'Give them what they want?'" Suigetsu snorted, "You thinking about joining their side?"

"It is worth looking in to."

The blue man frowned, "What could they possibly have that you desire? Death? Because, frankly, that's all that's been happening to their members in the last few years."

Sasuke's eyes were impassive, "I have something they desire and in turn they can give me power."

Like he hadn't heard that line before. "What kind of power do you need?! Orochimaru is dead! Itachi is dead! Half of the Akatsuki are dead! Who do you need to kill this time huh?"

"My duties as an Uchiha are not finished..."

"Yea yea 'revive my clan' blah blah blah! That still doesn't explain why you would need the Akatsuki for that! Well unless you're gay 'cuz it's almost all men...or creatures. I didn't know you liked your partners green and leafy! I'm sure he'll taste like a rotten cabbage! And even if you were straight, that blue haired chic looks like a man and everyone knows she's sleeping with Pein! And if you're so desperate for some snot nose kiddies why don't you just fuck Karin until you both pass out!"

Sasuke stared at him calmly, his eyes not blinking. It was clear he did not appreciate being called gay or a plant fucker but still...Suigetsu was pissing mad. It seemed like Sasuke didn't even have anyone to kill anymore and was looking for easy bait.

"Are you quite finished with your verbal rampage?" Sasuke asked, his voice laced with hidden anger.

"Yes actually," in contrast, Suigetsu's voice was light and airy. Not giving any hint that he had just finished speaking his mind against the most popular S-Class Missing Nin. And it was hard to tell that he was still angry inside.

"You do not amuse me but come down, they will be leaving soon."

"Do you plan to follow them all the way to Konohagakure?"

"Yes."

"Cool," he smiled, "Just let me get my sword, more fucktards may come outta nowhere and I need to entertain myself."

"If you say so."

And the journey of a lifetime had begun...for both parties.

* * *

_Everyone who reviews gets a cute Suigetsu plushie that yells at their most favorite retard. _

_Comes either in the **I Hate You/Fuck Off** variety with his huge plushie sword or the **I Wub You But I Still Wanna Drown You Muahahahaha...Now Seriously Shut The Fuck Up** variety with a smaller version of his sword and a water bottle. _


	22. Chapter 22

_Blood splattered out of her wound like a cascade and ran down her legs, marking them with flowing, scarlet ribbon tattoos. She clutched the wound to keep the blood from spilling out but the pain was too unbearable and when she removed her hands, they were covered in her blood. Nothing would keep the blood in. She felt weak and thought she was drowning in a sea of crimson blood so she dropped to the ground to keep herself sane. The color red in excess could make any person insane. _

_Above her, thunder rumbled and added to the assault on her already weary body. The ringing of the clouds echoed in her ears painfully and she grabbed her ears to try to block out the noise. It was an assault coming from all angles; it was slowly killing her from the inside out. _

_And then he appeared in front of her. He got so close so fast that she could see herself in his dark eyes. And she could see the blotches of blood on her face from her hands. Lightning from above illuminated his face harshly for a second and she could see that he too was covered in blood. The entire left side of his face was literally dripping with the stuff, making his Sharingan even brighter. But something told her that the blood wasn't his. _

_The sky kept wailing and flashing bright light but rain would not fall. It was as if the land had committed a sin that made the heavens condemn them, so even the blood that stained everything could not be washed away. As long as the blood remained on the land, every living being was in a state of panic, whether it was physically or emotionally. They were in a process of atoning for their sins. _

_She admitted it: she was scared. Never in her life had she seen so much blood drain out her body, not when she fought with Sasori that one time nor when she and Kisame had a one-on-one. A spasm of pain hit her and her hand flew to her mouth to keep the strangled cry in. It felt as if it would tear right through her lips if she didn't keep it inside. _

_The man before her didn't look at her with sympathy; he didn't look at her with understanding or even with indifferent anger. He seemed to be just observing her pain and doing nothing to further or stop it from consuming her. His body was slightly tense in its posture, his face blank...but his eyes were filled with pure rage. He had the most expressive eyes of anyone that she knew. Whether they were as dark as night or the color of the rising sun, his eyes were his first line of offense. _

_A droplet of blood from his hair fell onto the right side of his face and rolled down, painting that side of his face. _

_"What did I tell you about betraying me?" his voice was low and dangerous. The more he spoke, the more suffocated she felt. "What did I fucking tell you about lying to me?" He reached behind her and grabbed her by her hair, bringing her up to eye level. He ran a hand down the left side of his face; the one drenched with blood, and wiped it on his finger tips. The skin he uncovered was pink as the blood began to seep into it. It was becoming part of his system. "Do you know whose blood this is?" he said in a whisper, looking down at the liquid accumulated on his fingers. "Do you know how many times I had to beat him to get this much blood?" _

_The way he formed his words left little to the imagination. _

_Suigetsu didn't bleed, and if he could she doubted it would be colored red, so he could have only been talking about two people. His hand tightened in her hair and he pulled her closer, so close that she could feel the residue of chakra from the blood on his face. It made the skin on her face tremble a bit. _

_"Do you know how long and hard he had to scream to get this much blood?" He didn't expect an answer from her. Her lips felt stuck together because they were so dry and her tongue felt abnormally large. She couldn't have answered him if she tried. "Tell me," he growled. He lifted his blood covered hand to her face and ran it down her cheek. The blood felt hot like tears and she could feel the chakra being absorbed into her skin through the blood. Or maybe it was just the blood that was being absorbed. She couldn't tell. _

_She blinked as something landed on her face and looked up. A liquid started to fall from the sky but it wasn't rain. It was denser, hotter and that an indescribable yet familiar odor that made her feel as if the entire universe was falling apart. It was raining blood. He didn't look surprised and even smirked when the blood drops smacked against his head and trailed down his face as if racing one another. She felt them on her face, on her hands, streaking down her body with lightening speed and felt the need to cry out. It felt so wrong. _

_Why was the sky crying out in blood? Why was he just standing there as if he expected it to happen? Why did the blood drops burn with such intensity that they felt as if they would cut through her skin? _

_"Do you like that?" he asked her and her attention was back on his face. His face, which was usually porcelain or marble like, was completely covered in falling blood drops. His eyes were the same color and glowed brighter than ever before as if gaining power from the drops. "Do you like being covered in someone else's blood? Do you like that feeling?" he asked her roughly grabbing a hold of her chin with his hand. With a harsh tug he opened her mouth and angled it toward the sky, a shiver ran down her spine. He wanted her to drink the blood from the sky. _

_No, she said in her head but her vocal chords refused to work. _

_**No...**_

_"Taste it," he said to her, watching as a drop of blood landed safely on her tongue, "Does it taste good? Do you want more?" She didn't know why he was making her do that. She didn't even know whose blood he had first on his face but she had a feeling she didn't want to know. Somewhere along the line, they had separated so she was too far to feel his charka signature but she hoped he was alright. _

_Then, something inside of her froze. The man was speaking again and his words seemed to weigh heavier than before. _

_**Is this a dream?**_

_"He screamed for you to come save him," he softly smacked her cheek that he had wiped blood on, "The last thing he said before he died was..." He leaned over her body, his lips right next to her ear, "Tell Sakura I love her." _

_**Is it?**_

_If she could have gasped she would have so she just settled for breathing in very quickly. Her best friend was dead was dead and he knew her identity. She closed her eyes and waited for the final strike that would end her. He would not keep her alive, no matter how hard she begged. "I'm going to take my time killing you," he whispered, "I'm going to enjoy this more than you think." _

_**IT'S A DREAM!! **_

_**IT'S A DREAM!! **_

_**WAKE UP!! **_

_**WAKE UP!! **_

Her eyes opened on their own accord and her heart was racing at an incredible speed. She sat up off the branch and cupped a hand around her mouth just incase she started to scream uncontrollably.

The dream seemed so real, the pain was familiar and the blood rain...

She looked down at her arms which were pale in the moonlight and showed no signs of blood. She felt her face and her sides which were normal and unhurt and not bleeding out. The trees rustled in the cool midnight breeze and she tried, unsuccessfully, to calm her self down. There was no way she could continue with the mission without having any second thoughts. Sasuke didn't know who they were but he would be so much more furious when he did. The more time they spent with him and his group, the harder it would be to escape him and his lifestyle. He would have hurt them badly either way but she came to the conclusion that it would have been better if he had already known who they were. He didn't like to be deceived by the people closest to him and he would take it harder if they stuck around longer.

Either way, they were as good as dead. She and Midori were less than a day away from Konoha and they still didn't have a strategy. ANBU had occupied the Akatsuki so they hadn't noticed them yet but she knew Sasuke was following them. Despite being all powerful, he was predictable in his actions but not in his thoughts. Suigetsu was probably with him as well because she couldn't detect Jugo's massive chakra or Karin's condensed one. So they were, in essence, leading the criminal back to the scene of the crime.

All she had to do was somehow alert the Hokage that she was there and Sasuke would be in a chakra sealed box in less than a minute with ANBU surrounding him. Although the plan seemed simple, complications were every where. If Suigetsu was there when it happened, if the Akatsuki somehow found out who they were and if Sasuke knew beforehand who they were they were thoroughly fucked.

Next to her, her companion snored softly and muttered something about _'die you stupid weed'_ in his sleep. Sora sighed deeply and fell back on the branch, looking down at the ground below her. Sasuke was a master at hiding his chakra but it could be felt at certain instances, like when he either turned on or turned off his Sharingan. At the moment she couldn't feel him but something told her he was there. It must have been the re-awakening of her Sasukedar, left over from her Genin days. She smiled at that and leisurely traced patterns onto the bark of the thick brain. It was weird at first, the power to feel him within a two mile radius but then she got used to it. She thought it was an advantage, until he left of course. She still didn't know why she had waited for him all those years, even though she knew he would never come back.

He was destined to do great things and if they were _dark_ great things than so be it. Even if she had to lose the man that used to be her first love. Or still was her love...whatever.

_Why is this so complicated? It's not healthy to mix business with pleasure! _That's right; they had a mission to do. It was to keep Sasuke safe from the Akatsuki until they got bored of trying to recruit him and then they were allowed to return home. That's it, no where in the mission guidelines did it say they were allowed to do anything selfishly or that would have negative consequences on either Sasuke or Konoha.

She shifted again and hit her foot again the branch accidentally, emitting a loud sound. The snoring from Midori stopped and she heard him yawn, his joints popping as he stretched.

"Is it time to get up already? I didn't even get to finish my ramen. Ramen goood" he said drowsily, sitting up and looking over at her.

"No, it's still night time. Go back to sleep and finish your damn ramen this time." She saw him look toward his right and squint into the distance, a goofy smile on his face.

"I think I can see the entrance gate from here," he said gazing out.

"It's dark and it's foresty out here, you can't see the gates yet. We're still too far away."

"Yeah," his smile was still persistent, "But I think I can still see them." He paused, his brows furrowing, "Did I just hear you say foresty? Is that even a word?"

"Mmm," came her reply as she tried to snuggle back into a deep sleep. She didn't really want to have a nightmare again but the forest was uncharacteristically active at night and early morning. Any person or thing that was traveling under them could hear their conversation.

"Okay," he say back down next to her but she could tell that he wasn't asleep yet.

"Hey Midori?" she whispered.

He turned his head to her, "Yeah?"

"Do you think it's possible for it to rain blood?" She couldn't see his expression very well because of the dark but she could tell it was nothing less than horrified or extremely confused.

"Uhh...I've never actually thought about it before. If it were possible, I would imagine it would be a sick jutsu," he looked at her closely, "It sounds like something the Akatsuki would use. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she said to him closing her eyes, "I just thought of it."

He looked unconvinced for a minute before he attributed her question to a lack of sleep. Why else would a medic nin ask about if it was possible to rain blood? But still, the question did make him curious. He would be sure to ask a more experienced ninja if it was possible. _Blood rain huh...also sounds like a jutsu Sasuke would have up his sleeve to freak his opponent out. __It might be a __**dark jutsu**__...interesting. _


End file.
